


The Last Jedi (as it could be)

by JediBatman



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-04-20 19:50:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 45,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14268306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JediBatman/pseuds/JediBatman
Summary: The First Order army smashes through the Galaxy. Only the Resistance remains to oppose them. They are outnumbered, outgunned, and have almost no support.Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been located. But is he going to help the Resistance? Or is he going to maintain his self-imposed exile?Meanwhile, two senior First Order officers have their plans for the Galaxy... plans that nobody expected would exist!(I just added a movie review about the film as bonus material. It doesn't relate with the plot of the story. I included it in the final chapter for anyone interested).





	1. Orbital Bombardment

**Author's Note:**

> When I saw the Last Jedi, I disliked it. It didn't respect the Star Wars history and most of it it was a badly crafted film. Many characters in it behaved like children (a specific General and a specific Vice Admiral for instance).
> 
> So I made the assumption that most characters behaved like adults (mature, intelligent, and able to cooperate). What story would we have then? 
> 
> The story follows the Last Jedi but there are twists and turns in various points. Please let me know if you like it in the comments section.

"We must leave! Now!". The young Resistance member had almost panicked. He was a radar operator and he had just seen the unmistakable signal of a First Order dreadnought on his radar screen. He was so absorbed by the dreadnought, he didn't notice the female presence behind him.

"You heard the man! Run! Priority one:personnell! Priority two: radio equipment! We need to maintain contact with the rest of the Resistance! Priority three: medical equipment! Leave weapons and ammo behind if you can't take it! Run!". It was the voice of General Leia Organa.

The young Resistance member was startled, but only for a second. He immediately turned the radar and the radio off and started packing. The enemy dreadnought and its escorts had appeared much earlier than anticipated. There would be no time for a proper evacuation of the D'qar base. The Resistance was weak with limited resources and now many of them would be lost. It would take a lot of time to replace them.

General Organa stepped outside the headquarters. In a few minutes, the enemy dreadnought would bombard them. There was almost nothing to use against them. The base had weak defensive cannons and even weaker enemy shields. Its defense was primarily based on a group of X – wing starfighters...if they appeared in time.

Unfortunately, most of the starfighters had been lost attacking the First Order. It had been a good tradeoff losing less than twenty starfighters to take down Starkiller base, the most powerful weapon ever created. Nevertheless, most of the X-wings the base had been lost and the surviving ones had been moved elsewhere because General Organa wanted to preserve them. Only one of them was flying above them, piloted by the best and most reckless pilot the Resistance had. He was Poe Dameron, the destroyer of Starkiller base.

 

The First Order dreadnought jumped from hyperspace and took position in orbit above planet D'qar. It achieved a geosynchronous orbit, meaning it would circle around the planet at the same speed the planet circled around its axis. In such a way, the dreadnought would continuously face the same area of the planet's surface. Currently, it faced the Resistance base.

General Hux was on board the dreadnought. It was one of the biggest spaceships the First Order had built. It had a strong defensive armament against small attack craft and medium ships. It also had a special underside gun turret capable of attacking long distance ground and space targets.

General Hux had been the commanding officer of Starkiller base. He was the man who had given the order to use its powerful hyperspace gun to destroy the Hosnian system. He was also the man who had lost his base when a daring attack by Resistance pilots had managed to bypass the base defenses and destroy the weakest spot of its gigantic gun.

The destruction of the base had troubled Hux. There had been three layers of defense in the base: the TIE fighters, the anti-aircraft guns, and the energy shields. OK, a pilot might be very skilled or get lucky during the confusion of the battle and evade the TIE fighters. With even more luck or skill such a pilot might also evade the anti-aircraft guns. After all their crews would be very reluctant to fire for fear of hitting one of their own. But the shields? Why hadn't they worked? Had they malfunctioned? Or had someone turned them off?

There was no way for General Hux to answer the last question. The shield generators no longer existed. They had been vaporized along with the rest of Starkiller base and thousands of First Order personnel. The planet where Starkiller base had been built was now a star.

"We are in position General!", a young officer shouted.

"Aim the long range cannons to the Resistance base", General Hux ordered. "Fire on my command".

"Yes, sir. Three minutes till the weapon is fully charged!"

 

"General! Your ship is ready.", a corporal informed Leia Organa.

"Nonsense! A captain of a ship is always the last to abandon ship. I will leave with the last ship!".

The corporal was confused. The enemy dreadnought would fire at any moment. Why would the General stay behind and risk losing her life? She was more valuable alive than dead. But then what would happen if the General let the men and women under her command take risks she would not take for herself? Her troops would call her selfish and cowardly. The General was more valuable than anyone else in the Resistance. But a General who stayed and took the risks was a General who would inspire her troops to fight till the bitter end. And that mattered more than her own personal survival.

"You are right General! You cannot lead if you don't risk for your people", he said.

"You have learned a lesson here", Leia Organa told him. "Never take less risks than your subordinates. Since we have to save you all, you will take my place. Go!"

The corporal was hesitant. On the one hand he wanted to save his life. On the other hand, he didn't want to leave his comrades and his General behind.

General Leia Organa permitted herself a smile, the only one for the day. "Go young man. You are brave, don't doubt it. If you hesitate, consider it an order." The young man complied.

General Organa sighed. The young man was inexperienced but she was certain one day he would become a good leader. Could she say the same for the hotheaded pilot named Poe Dameron?

 

Thousands of kilometers above the planet of D'qar, a lonely starfighter slowly moved close to the huge First Order dreadnought. Poe Dameron was inside it. His mission was to delay the enemy bombardment against the Resistance base as much as possible.

"This is the Resistance. I would like to speak with the officer in charge. My mission is to negotiate on behalf of General Organa."

 

General Hux was ready to order the bombardment of the Resistance base when Dameron's message reached him.

"Get a squadron of TIE fighters ready. Surround him. It might be a trick", Hux ordered. However, he didn't order an attack against the base. General Organa was in charge of the Resistance. Had she send an emissary to negotiate her surrender and spare the lives of her soldiers?

"This is General Armitage Hux, commanding officer of the First Order squadron. Who am I speaking to?"

"This is the Resistance. I would like to speak with the officer in charge. My mission is to negotiate on behalf of General Organa. Can anybody hear me?"

Poe Dameron turned his radio off. He had no reason to communicate fast. His mission was to delay the attack against the base as much as possible. Pretending technical problems existed was a cheap way to operate but there was no other way. The question was: would they buy it?

Poe turned his radio on again. "Still waiting to hear from the commanding officer of the First Order squadron. This is the representative of General Leia Organa. Can you hear me?"

"General, I think he is kidding us. They are stalling to buy time."

"You are probably right. But what are they going to achieve? Our intelligence has concluded they don't have transport barges to evacuate their base. Their only hope is to disperse in the forests around their base and stay hidden there. As soon as the bombardment is over, Captain Phasma will comb the area for survivors. Captain Phasma?"

Captain Phasma, an elite infantry warrior was wearing her form fitting shining armor and her shining helmet. She had remained silent during the previous minutes. "Yes, sir. I will get my troops ready", she said and left.

Captain Phasma had a dark secret. It was she who had lowered the energy shields in Starkiller base and had thus allowed Poe Dameron and other X-wing pilots to destroy it. But only four people knew that except her: Han Solo, Rey, Finn the traitor, and that strange creature called Chewbacca. Fortunately, one of them was already dead, killed by the hand of Kylo Ren and the rest were not among the First Order army. Her secret was safe..at least for the time being.

"This is General Hux. Stop your silly games and listen. We will only accept full and unconditional surrender. Understood?"

"This is Poe Dameron, the man who blew up Starkiller base. As a representative of General Leia, I will only say this: we shall never surrender! We shall fight till our final victory. And even if we lose...WE SHALL GIVE YOU HELL BEFORE WE DO!"

"The line is dead General!", a young officer remarked.

"So will he! So will Organa! So will the lot of them! Engage the X-wing! Bombard the base!"

 

Since the dreadnought was in geosynchronous orbit, its attention was focused in one area and not in an underground tunnel that led to an enormous hidden cave. While the dreadnought smashed the Resistance base, small cloaked transports launched into space from the cave. The heat generated by the explosions in the D'qar base masked the heat of the engines of the escaping ships.

Some of the transports could not start their engines and their passengers and crews were forced to remain on the planet and fight their last stand. Others were unlucky and were destroyed while trying to escape the First Order. But most of them made it to Raddus, a Resistance transport. Among the survivors were General Leia and Finn, Poe's friend from Jakku.

Poe did not wait for the TIE fighters to catch him. As soon as they got close enough, he turned his hyperdrive engines on and escaped to hyperspace. The TIE fighters, unable to do the same were forced to return to the dreadnought.


	2. The four ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supreme Leader Snoke teaches Kylo Ren there are more ways to accomplish things than yielding a lightsaber or using the Force. There is the way of the soldier, the way of the Force user, the way of science, and the way of the officer.

It was only a few minutes after the bombardment had ended when a holographic message appeared in front of General Hux. 

"General Hux", Snoke said.

"Yes, Supreme Leader."

"Get to your private quarters, now. We have some matters of utmost importance to discuss."

The problem with Supreme Leader Snoke, Hux had always believed, was you could not read him. His facial expression and his tone of voice was the same whether he wanted to congratulate you, to punish you or to simply make a neutral announcement. But Hux suspected this time Snoke was not happy. What had he made wrong?

"You have failed me General", Snoke said. 

"How could that be Supreme Leader? We have thoroughly bombarded the enemy base. We have destroyed the enemy transports on the ground. As we speak, infantry units accompanied with armored walkers comb the surface of D'qar searching for enemy survivors."

"No General", Snoke replied, "you did not destroy their transports and the Resistance members are alive and well. You have only managed to destroy an empty base. General Organa has played you like a fool!"

"I don't understand sir. We have bombarded their base. General Organa is either obliterated by the blasts or about to die by our ground troops."

"Wrong General! General Organa is still alive! I have sensed her presence!"

Leia Organa, the sister of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and the daughter of Darth Vader had been Force sensitive since childhood. Supreme Leader Snoke could sense the presence of Force users like her. If Snoke had sensed her presence, Hux had no reason to doubt it

"Think of that General Hux", Snoke continued. "The Resistance has lost the support of the Republic after we blew up the Hosnian System. Our troops are ten thousand times more than theirs. One Star Destroyer of us has thirty times more crew members than the entire Resistance. They know they face certain death if we capture them. And yet they persist. Why General?"

Hux knew the answer "They do so because they trust and they love their leader. And the only leader who can command such trust, love, and loyalty is someone who takes risks for her troops, someone who risks more than her troops do. Such leaders perish with their soldiers. If such a person has survived, despite taking more risks than her people, then most of her people have survived as well."

"You are right General. You have a good mind but you did not use it when you should. We have lost an opportunity to destroy them."

Hux felt a pain on his neck, as if someone had tightened a rope around it. He knew what had happened. Snoke was Force choking him.

"I did not punish you for the loss of Starkiller base. But maybe I should have. Maybe that would have made you wiser. Do not fail me again General!"

"No, Supreme Leader." The pressure around Hux's neck stopped and so did the transmission. 

 

As soon as the transmission had stopped, Supreme Leader Snoke looked at Kylo Ren, his Force sensitive apprentice. They were both inside Snoke's throne room in Snoke's command ship, Supremacy. Apart from Kylo and Snoke, eight masked guards were next to the Supreme Leader's throne. They were some of the fiercest fighters the galaxy had known. They were all dressed in red and their presence was intimidating.

 

"When I saw you, I sensed...RAW, UNTAMED power. And beyond that something truly special. You are gifted Kylo, in a way that nobody in the First Order is. You have so much potential."

"But unfortunately Kylo, you have been a disappointment. I have asked you to kill your father, Han Solo, and what did you do? You managed to make yourself weak and conflicted. You still have guilt for what you did. I was expecting much more from you than that."

"But I did as you asked Supreme Leader", Kylo tried to defend himself. "And I did kill Han Solo as you have asked me to do."

"I did not ask you to be so much weakened by that one action. Tell me, when you saw General Hux in the hologram, did he appear weak and conflicted? Did you see or sense something like that?"

"No. Supreme Leader. He was more concerned by his recent failure to deliver a decisive blow to the Resistance."

"Then ask yourself Kylo. How did you feel so much pain, guilt and conflict in you after you killed one single person while Hux did not feel the same despite killing billions of people in the Hosnian System?"

"It was not his decision to make. He took orders from you Supreme Leader."

"So did you. It is much more than that. Let me show something."

 

Snoke pushed a button on his throne. The moment he did that a small three wheeled robot appeared from a small side entrance to the throne room. It was carrying a small empty tray. Perhaps it was a robot used to carry food and drinks in the officers' hall. 

Snoke pushed the button again. The robot came to a stop five meters away from the throne. 

"Kylo, remove your lightsaber and put it on the tray. Then return to your place here." Kylo Ren was puzzled by the order but nevertheless he obeyed. 

"Good. Now go and get your lightsaber back." Kylo remained puzzled but he obeyed again.

"That was the way of the soldier. You accomplished a task with your direct actions. Like the way you killed Han Solo."

"Let's try something different now Kylo. Use the Force to put the lightsaber on the tray." Kylo did so. 

"Now use the Force to pick the lightsaber up. Now tell me. What did you accomplish?"

"That was the way of the Force", Kylo replied without hesitation. "I used my Force powers to accomplish a task."

"Good. Now for lesson number three". Snoke pushed the button on his throne and the robot moved next to Kylo Ren. 

"Pick up the lightsaber Kylo and then put it back on the tray." Kylo did that. Then Snoke pushed the button again and the small robot returned to its original position. 

"This is the way of science and engineering. You use scientific principles to design and create a machine to accomplish tasks for you. From relatively simple machines like this small robot to Starkiller base. Machines that have served in many different capacities for millennia."

"Now there is a fourth way for that lightsaber to move. Let me show it to you."

Supreme Leader Snoke raised his right hand and gestured to the lightsaber. The next second, one of the eight guards walked towards the robot. He picked up the lightsaber and placed it in front of Kylo Ren's feet. Then he bowed respectfully in front of the Supreme Leader and returned to his place. 

"This is the way of the officer. You don't accomplish a task on your own. Instead you order someone else to accomplish it for you."

"These four ways to accomplish a task are used everywhere in life. Sometimes they are used separately. Sometimes they are used in combination. For example a soldier who fires a blaster uses the way of science for his weapon and the way of the soldier in the use of his weapon. The officer who orders him to fire his weapon uses the way of the science, the way of the soldier, and the way of the officer."

"Answer me this question Kylo. Out of the four ways previously described, which two challenge more of a man's soul?"

"The way of the soldier and the way of the Force Supreme Leader."

"Exactly Kylo. And which ones cause more death and destruction yet are less challenging for the soul?"

"The way of science and the way of the officer."

"Correct again Kylo. These two ways allow us to commit impersonal mass destruction without the feelings of pain and guilt the first two ways cause. That is why Hux could destroy an entire planetary system and still remain sane. And that is why you have disappointed me."

Kylo Ren bowed his head in recognition of his failure. "You are right Supreme Leader. There were more than one ways to accomplish the task of killing Han Solo. I chose poorly."

Snoke permitted himself a little smile. "You are intelligent and capable Kylo. You have mastered the way of the soldier and almost mastered the way of the Force. But you still haven't learned the way of science and the way of the officer."

"Yes, Supreme Leader. There were thousands of available soldiers in Starkiller base. I could simply have gathered some of them and ordered them to kill Han Solo for me. I admit he surprised me but I should have been better prepared."

"You are learning Kylo. Hux knows the way of the officer and the way of science. But you have much more intelligence and much more potential. One day you will surpass even his considerable scientific knowledge. Then nothing will be able to stop you."

"But remember Kylo! I am not a fool like Palpatine, who was killed by his own second in command. I will not accept disobedience or treason from you. Understood? "

"Yes, Supreme Leader", Kylo said.

"Very well." , Snoke said. "Now let's move to our next topic of discussion. It is about the attack against Starkiller base and...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darth Vader had more power as a General commanding the 501 Stormtrooper Legion than as a Force user. This is an interesting lesson for Kylo Ren.


	3. Mopping up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Phasma in action. She tries to eliminate any survivors from the abandoned Resistance base.

"Be careful where you step! There are hidden mines everywhere!" Captain Phasma warned. As if on cue an explosion was heard and one stormtrooper was blown up. "Idiot!", she screamed.

"Eyes open you morons!" The rest of the troopers instantly became more careful and vigilant. She could not see their faces but she could observe them. Their posture had changed. At least the rest are smarter.

Captain Phasma and her troops were on planet D'qar and had just entered the destroyed Resistance base. The orbital bombardment had smashed the base runway, the hangars, almost all the buildings and almost all the defensive artillery of the base. Only one anti-aircraft artillery piece had remained intact but had soon been neutralized and its heroic crew were now dead. 

The base runway was littered with the remains of destroyed transports. However, the broken pieces were much less than expected from so many destroyed transport ships. In addition, where was the so familiar smell of burned human bodies? She could not smell it. Something was amiss. 

After careful examination of the base and its remains, Captain Phasma realized what Snoke, in his own way, had already found: the Resistance was gone. 

Frustrated, Phasma ordered her troops to search for secret tunnels and entrances. Some enemies might have remained on the planet. 

Her mind returned to the incident in Starkiller Base, when Finn – as the traitor's new name was - , Solo, and the Chewbacca as the Wookie was called, had taken her prisoner, forced her to lower the base shields, and then threw her to a trash compactor. 

Captain Phasma was no coward. But she never had believed in the First Order. She came from a small and isolated planet and joining them had been her ticket for a new and better life. 

Privately Phasma did not mind the destruction of Starkiller base. Thousands had died, but the loss of the base meant billions would not die. She was relieved for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Phasma to do something meaningful instead of waiting 2/3ds of the story to be killer off.


	4. The Last Jedi

Rey, the young Resistance member remained motionless as Luke Skywalker, the man an entire galaxy was looking for, approached her. She was holding his lightsaber with her right hand ready to offer it. 

Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi, came close to her. His prosthetic right hand, damaged after so many years in exile, was extended. He almost touched the lightsaber Rey offered him, the same lightsaber his father once had. So much history and death and destruction in such a small thing!

But Luke didn't take the weapon. He only looked at Rey's eyes and started talking. "Who are you? And why are you here?" It was the first time he had talked in years.

Rey was trembling. The man, the Jedi, the legend was in front of her. The man who had destroyed the first Death Star, who had defeated both Darth Vader and Palpatine, had spoken to her. She had heard so much about him. And now she was in front of him. This is not a dream. It is him.

"Master Skywalker, I am Rey. General Organa send me. She and her troops need your assistance."

"Yes, for the second time in my life the Galaxy needs me. I only hoped it would have ended the first time. But", he added with a sad face, "it never ends."

"Master Skywalker, the situation is really bad. The First Order has..."

"Wait a minute. What First Order? What are you talking about?"

Rey moved as if hit by an electrical current. What had happened to Master Skywalker? Was he so ignorant about the world around him? Was he so detached from everything? Or was he just too self-absorbed to care about the Galaxy? Rey didn't know but she felt a little disappointed. 

Luke Skywalker saw her expression. "I am sorry...Rey. I have been to isolated in this small island and none has visited me in years, so I am cut off from the world. I can feel that something terrible has happened but I don't know the details."

Was that the truth? Had the great Jedi Master isolated himself? Or was it just a test for him to learn more about her? One way or another, Rey decided she should tell him everything she knew.

Rey told Luke about her home planet in Jakku, her life as a scavenger there, and the fact she lived alone without any knowledge about her parents. She also told her about her meeting with Finn, the First Order attack on Jakku, her escape using the Millenium Falcon and her first meeting with Chewie and Han Solo. 

When she mentioned Solo, Luke stopped her. "Where is Han now? Where is Chewie?" She told him. Chewie was alive and had been with her in the Millenium Falcon. But Han was dead, killed by the hand of his own son. When she told Luke about Han, tears fell from his eyes. Han, his friend and father of his nephew was gone. 

"I am sorry, but I have to see my other friend. Chewie...it's been a long time."

Luke entered the Millenium Falcon for the first time after more than thirty years but he felt as if nothing had changed. For a few precious moments he felt twenty years old again. 

"CHEWIE!". Both friends hugged each other. 

"Hey, who is here? R2? Nice to see you again buddy!" R2 made a strange gurgling sound. It meant he was happy, very happy indeed. 

"I have been alone in this place for so long! I have missed you both guys. I wish Han was with us now", and his face suddenly saddened.

Looking from one of the spaceship windows, Luke observed Rey. She had taken her staff with both hands and practiced some offensive and defensive moves. The Jedi Master turned to Chewie.

"All right now. There are a lot of things to talk about. But for now just a quick question Chewie. What can you tell me about Rey?"

Chewie left a growl, which meant "She is all right". Satisfied, Luke Skywalker patted the wookie on the shoulder and left to join Rey. 

Rey continued her narrative. She mentioned their escape from a group of rathtars using the Millenium Falcon, their visit to Maz Kanata, her abduction by Kylo Ren and her imprisonment in Starkiller base. It was then that she realized she had hidden Jedi powers, which she used to escape her captors. 

After her escape Rey joined Finn, Han, and Chewie and they managed to destroy the shields around the Starkiller Base weapon. But Han didn't make it, stabbed by his own son. In the end, Rey had to duel Kylo on the snowy surface of the planet. She managed to wound him but the chaos and destruction allowed him to escape. Meanwhile, Chewie helped her and Finn escape on board the Millenium Falcon. 

Upon her return to the Resistance base in D'qar, R2 was reactivated and the second part of the map to the first Jedi Temple was revealed. Combining the R2 and the BB-8 part, the Resistance had a clear idea where the last Jedi could be. 

The time had come for a new Jedi to be trained. The map Luke had placed inside R2 had been found. His lightsaber had also been found. It was time.

"Rey?"

"Yes, Master Skywalker."

"There is a saying I learned a long time ago: When the student wants, the teacher appears. It is time to train you in the ways of the Jedi."

"Yes, Master Skywalker.", Rey said full of enthusiasm.


	5. Finn, Amilyn, and Poe Dameron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn wakes up from his coma. Poe Dameron visits him. Then he has to see Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. What is he going to discuss with her?

In the medical chamber of Raddus, a young man connected to various instruments woke up. He was Finn, a former First Order soldier who had decided to switch sides and join the Resistance.  
"Rey? Poe? Chewie? Poe? Rey?" The names didn' mean anything to the nurse with the obvious exception of Poe.

"Do you mean Poe Dameron sir?" Her voice was calm and professional.

"Yes. Yes. This is what I mean. Could I see him please?"

"Just relax sir. You have been seriously wounded. You have just woken up. I shall call Captain Dameron myself...but later."

As if on cue Poe Dameron entered the medical chamber and approached Finn. 

"Hey buddy, how are you today?", Poe asked with a smile.

"I have been better you know. You know, not wounded", Finn replied with a weak smile. 

"You missed all the action out there. So many things happened."

"Well, I am sorry but I have been unconscious the whole time. What happened?"

"Nothing special. Just a base evacuation and Poe Dameron shooting down about one hundred enemy star fighters."

"Only one hundred? You were chivalrous Poe!"

"Oh come on. You really should have faith you know. We really did evacuate the base in D'qar. Why can't you believe it", Poe asked.

"I really believe that. About Poe Dameron and the star fighters thought..."

"OK, I admit it I exaggerated a little. They weren't one hundred, they were a little less than that. Like..."

"A hundred percent less, I think", Finn replied.

"Well, what can I say. You got me on that one."

A voice was heard from the intercom. "Captain Dameron to report to Conference Room 1 in ten minutes." That was a room next to the bridge, used for conferences of senior staff.

"Poe, where is Rey?" Poe told him.

"So Rey is training with Skywalker! At least she is away from all this mess. And she will bring the old master with her. And the nurse told me what a great hero you are. You blew up their goddamned base!"

"Sorry buddy, but it is not exactly like that. You have been seriously wounded and have remained in coma for weeks. You missed the part where the First Order conquered a huge part of the galaxy and the part where we had to abandon our main base of operations."

Finn was dismayed. They had survived and they had destroyed the Starkiller base. How many more tricks could the First Order hide?

"Right now, our best chance is Rey. We don't know anything about Luke Skywalker and his plans but who knows? Maybe he isolated himself in order to find something new, something we can use against our enemies."

"At least she is safer than here. She is in land and not on board a spaceship. And she is away from trouble." Finn concluded.

"Get some rest buddy", Poe said. "The resistance needs you".

After his visit to the hospital bay, Poe went to the conference room. A tall, slender woman with piercing blue eyes and purple hair was waiting for him. She wore a form fitting gray uniform and she was quite beautiful. She was Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.

"Welcome Captain and have a seat. There is a meeting General Organa has organized and we are both invited to attend. Unfortunately, the General made a mistake and I came an hour earlier from my cruiser Ninka."

"Welcome on board Raddus Admiral. It is an honor to be with us tonight." 

"The General was too busy, so she asked me to inform you on some classified matters about the First Order. For security reasons, I would like you to close the door. Understood?"

"Yes, Admiral". Poe stood up and closed the door.

"Is the room soundproof Captain?"

"Yes it is, Admiral"

"You know what to do then." Poe locked the door and started undressing. So did Amilyn.

Thirty minutes later both lovers were naked on the floor, sweating and trying to breathe. 

"I missed you Poe", she said. "It's been weeks since we last met." She could barely breathe.

"So did I Amilyn. My goodness, you are a force of nature!" He could also barely breathe. Despite being fifty, the Vice Admiral had the stamina of an athlete half her age. She also had the body of a woman much younger than fifty. Not that he complained for that.

"I wish we could spend more time together", she said.

"Well, there is the small thing called First Order and the important fact we are away from decent restaurants", he replied.

"Oh, you took care of their superweapon", she said. "Maybe I will take care of their flagship. The faster we win, the faster we go to dinner." 

They spent the next thirty minutes talking and relaxing. They actually had many things in common and they deeply loved each other. 

"OK handsome", she said, "time to get dressed. We have a meeting with senior officers to attend. The General covers for us from time to time. But she will scold us for being late."

"OK beautiful", Poe replied. "Let's get to work. And once more thank you Amilyn."

"Thank me for what Poe?"

"For saving my life in Jakku. I would have died in the desert if you hadn't helped."

"I would risk my life anytime for you. We've been three years together remember?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dynamic between Poe and Amilyn is exactly the opposite to the one in the movie. I hated their childish arguments in the movie so I went to the opposite extreme: they are lovers.
> 
> You have two good looking adults who are members of the same organisation. It is playsible for them to be involved, provided they match. In this story they match.
> 
> Spoiler Alert: They will remain a beloved couple till the end. There will be no conflict between them. (There are so many other in-story conflicts to focus on anyway).


	6. Finding a spaceship and training an appentice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supreme Leader Snoke assigns both Kylo Ren and Hux to find the Resistance fleet. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker starts training Rey.

"General Hux, you have failed me", Supreme Leader Snoke said. "Resistances are like viruses. If you don't destroy them when they are concentrated, they disperse and then they are hard to find. The First Order is supposed to be a smarter version of the Galactic Empire. I expect smart ideas and smart actions from my officers."

"Supreme Leader, we have managed to capture and destroy their base. We also have managed to destroy a lot of their equipment and we have killed a lot of their troops." General Hux remained composed but he was slightly trembling.

"The majority of them have escaped. You didn't think they would have hidden spaceships somewhere else and then used their doomed base as a decoy while they escaped. You are too conventional in your thinking General."

"I didn't have enough TIE fighters to cover a wider area. I only had the remains of Starkiller base. And I have to remind you that you said it was not my fault..."

"I know whose fault it is. It was a design flaw. Too many people had too easy access to too many security terminals", Snoke remarked. "You have made serious mistakes General. I believe you have the good intentions but you don't have the flair of greatness, the flair others possess. Like Kylo Ren for example."

Hux was annoyed to hear the name of Kylo. Kylo Ren was in many respects the opposite of him. Kylo was Force sensitive while Hux wasn't. Kylo was a man of an ancient tradition, who had no official position in the First Order military chain of command. Hux on the other hand was officially a General and he had extensive scientific knowledge.

Supreme Leader Snoke was not certain that Kylo Ren really possessed the flair for greatness. Kylo had the potential but could he realize it? Would he realize it? 

In any case, it was a good idea to add some competition between Hux and Kylo Ren. It could make them more willing to find new and better ways to perform their tasks so as to outdo each other. This would benefit the First Order, provided the competition did not extend to efforts to undermine each other. In addition, that competition would make them more concerned with each other and less concerned with plotting against Supreme Leader Snoke. 

Supreme Leader Snoke had never forgotten how Palpatine had lost his life. It was not a Rebel Alliance officer who had defeated him. It was Palpatine's most trusted lieutenant, Darth Vader himself. 

"Supreme Leader, there is a way to find the Resistance. In fact, it is on board your flagship."

"I suppose you mean one of your pet projects, the hyperspace locator."

"Exactly Supreme Leader. The locator requires huge amounts of energy that only the Supremacy can provide". Supremacy was the name of Snoke's personal super battleship. It was the greatest battleship the First Order had and served as Snoke's flagship and official capital of the Order. 

"Very well. Activate the locator and let me know when you have found them. Your intelligence suggests they only have one heavy cruiser left. If we find it, it will be over for them. To assist you, Kylo Ren has already started using the Force to locate the cruiser as well."

"Yes, Supreme Leader. I will be on my way."

They will be properly motivated now. They won't sleep till they find the ship. Good.

 

"Lesson One is...fishing."

"Fishing? I mean...is it part of our training?" Rey was puzzled.

"Have you ever fished before?" , Luke Skywalker asked.

"No. I have spent all of my life in Jakku, a desert planet. There was no place to fish there."

"Just like my planet Tatooine. But fishing will teach you something very important."

"The value of concentration, patience and persistence?" Rey was full of expectation. 

"Actually...no. It will teach you how to survive on this small island. There are not many food sources around." Rey looked disappointed.

"Will that affect my Jedi training?"

"Well...yes. Not dying from hunger is the first step in accomplishing your Jedi training.", the Jedi Master replied. "It is either fishing or milking some huge sea cows...but trust me, fishing is a better option."

Is the Jedi Master trolling me? 

 

Fortunately fishing was not such a hard task for Rey to learn. She had no alternative though. There was not much arable soil on the island. The little one that existed was already cultivated by the island's existing inhabitants. Even if Rey wanted to eat fruit or vegetables, she would have to trade them with fish. 

"There are also some birds that cannot fly. They are called Porgs and they are delicious. But the locals here don't like us eating them. So we should avoid...hey, what is this?" Luke started running towards the place the Millenium Falcon was parked. Rey followed him.

Luke Skywalker could smell roast meat, as if someone had lighted a fire to cook a Porg. Only one person would do that.

"Chewie, what have you done? Did you kill one of these birds?" The short, penguin-like inhabitants of the island were gathered around the huge Wookie, expressing their disgust for his action. 

"Chewie, I thought you knew how to fish." Chewie growled.

"Yes, I know porgs taste better than fish but we are guests here and we should respect their ways." Chewie growled again, in a different way.

"There are many different species of fish. You are going to enjoy yourself. Don't worry, they are tasty." Chewie growled for a third time.

"What else is there to eat? Well, Chewie do you like sea cow milk?"

 

Having solved the logistics problem, the Jedi Master and his young apprentice started training. 

"What is the Force Rey?"

"It is a power that allows its user to move objects, to trick the mind of people, and to throw lightning from their hands. It also helps them in swordsmanship." Rey turned around fully expecting a nod of approval. But she got none. 

"Well...how can I say this? Everything you have said is wrong!"

"The Force is the unifying material of the Universe. It is the power that keeps everything connected with each other. You can be very strong in the ways of the Force if you train yourself. You can find ways to use it for better but also for worse." Rey remained silent.

Luke continued his analysis. "That is the reason why I used the Force on you. It was the first time I had used it in years. 

"When I looked inside you, what I saw was...raw, untamed power. And beyond that, something truly special. And do you know what that special and powerful thing was?" 

"What was it Master Skywalker?"

"It was your strength of character. And the special thing was your fundamental goodness. It was your willingness to sacrifice yourself for the greater good."

Rey could see the tears forming in Luke's eyes. "When I was your age, I believed I could make a difference. And I did. But along the way, I lost my path. And it was you that made me believe in you...and myself...again!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My worst part of the movie: Luke behaving like a jerk to Rey. Here Luke behaves more respectfully.


	7. The birth of a conspiracy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren and Hux manage to locate the Resistance fleet. Ren has an interesting proposal for Hux.

Kylo Ren was concentrating hard. He needed to find the one person who had Force sensitivity but who never had used the Force in her life. He needed to find the General who led the last Resistance members against the First Order. He needed to find his mother.

Supreme Leader Snoke had been correct. It is much easier to kill someone when you delegate the task to someone else. He did not have to kill his mother. That would destroy him. He only needed to locate her and let a TIE fighter pilot or a turbolaser gunner do the dirty work. Kylo felt like a coward for not taking the matter in his own hands. Or as he occasionally told himself he felt a little Hux. 

At the same time, General Hux was stationed on board the Supremacy bridge. Snoke had allowed him to steer the ship in the direction he desired. Hux knew about the power of the Force but he had more confidence in the power of science. 

After hours of searching, a faint signal appeared in one of the monitors in front of the General. He immediately ordered a hyperspace jump.

 

"I can feel you now Mother", Kylo told himself. "Only if we could make a hyperspace jump at..."

Hyperspace jumps are strange things. A spaceship can bypass huge parts of the galaxy but the spaceship passengers can't feel a thing. It is strange because it makes you feel as if you have slept throughout the way. 

Kylo's senses did not warn him about the hyperspace jump. But his Force sensitivity warned him that his mother was now closer. 

"Prepare for another jump in those coordinates" Hux said. "I am on my way to inform the Supreme Leader."

Supremacy was a huge vessel. It had a length of more than sixty kilometers. A crew of more than two million people were needed to operate it and support the administrative needs of the First Order capital. To reach the throne room, Hux hat to take a ground monorail and then use a special fast elevator to go to a lower deck where Snoke's throne room was located. Despite this, Kylo Ren was already there when he reached the room.

"Yes Kylo. You may use your personal starfighter to attack. General Hux", and turned his eyes to look at him, "will provide you with two of his best pilots to accompany you."

"At your orders Supreme Leader", General Hux said.

"You both did a good job in locating the Resistance. You used different methods but you had the same result. I would call the result a tie. Finish the job now. Get going. "

Both men left the throne room at the same time. Both took the same elevator. They didn't look at each other and didn't exchange a word.

"The Supreme Leader doesn't trust you", Kylo Ren said. "He considers you incompetent."

"He still keeps my as a General, Ren", Hux replied.

"Had it been up to me, you would not be a General", Kylo said. Armitage Hux glared him. He was about to answer but Kylo spoke first.

"You would be a Supreme Commander."

The anger inside Hux vanished and was replaced by genuine surprise and curiosity. What had Kylo Ren just said? Was it a kind of test? A kind of trap? 

A Supreme Commander was commander-in-chief of the army and answered to noone but the Supreme Leader himself. Currently, Snoke was both the Supreme Leader and the Supreme Commander. 

The elevator stopped and Kylo Ren stepped outside. Before the door closed, he turned around and looked at Hux.

"Much sooner than you expect. Get ready." Hux nodded. Both his logic and his instinct said it was not a trap. It was the real deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I disliked the way they treated Hux in the film. They reduced him from a ruthless General to a joke character. Here, on the other hand, Ren respects him enough to include him in his conspiracy.


	8. The Resistance under attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The First Order attacks the Resistance and causes heavy casualties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a relatively big chapter compared to the others, about twice as big.

As soon as he was out of the elevator, Kylo went to the hangar where his specialized starfighter was located and Hux went to the bridge to prepare and coordinate the attack against Raddus, the last Resistance heavy cruiser. 

 

"General quarters! I repeat: General Quarters! All hands in their stations!" The female voice was calm, as it should be in such stressful situations but everyone else on board wasn't. They had found them. 

Poe Dameron was in his cabin with Finn. The former First Order trooper had almost recovered from his wounds. He was now an anti-aircraft gunner on board Raddus. It was the third time Finn took this place. The first one had been on board a stolen TIE fighter he and Poe had used to escape from the First Order and the second one had been on board the legendary Millenium Falcon. In both cases Finn had proven himself a capable gunner and he had managed to shoot down several TIE fighters.

Both men run to their posts, Finn to his designated flak position, and Poe to the hangar where the last seven X-wing fighters were located. BB-8,the droid accompanying Poe followed him. 

 

"All right, this is it. They are few and they are weakened. Use your cannons for their fighters and your missiles for their bigger ships. Remember: fire the missiles to the engines or to the bridges. General Hux out." Ten squadrons of twelve aircraft each took off from Supremacy. In addition, three high quality aircraft took off from another hanger in Snoke's flagship. Kylo Ren and two elite pilots were in them. 

 

The ten First Order squadrons attacked in three groups. The first consisted of three squadrons attacked light cruiser Ninka. The second group, also three squadrons strong, attacked an auxiliary vessel supporting Raddus and Ninka. The remaining four squadrons and Ren's small group attacked Raddus itself. 

The three Resistance ships had nominally a crew of about fifteen hundred people. In addition, the nominal strength of the D'qar base was a little more than one thousand people. In reality though, the three ships were supported by a skeleton crew of less than one third of their nominal strength. Moreover, about many Resistance members had perished in the evacuation of D'qar base either because they failed to leave the planet or because they were killed during their escape. In all, there were just a little more than eight hundred people on board the three ships.

As soon as the enemy TIE fighters were in range, Finn started firing. They were still too far away to accurately hit them but Finn didn't care. Laser weapons have a theoretically unlimited supply of ammo. All gunners in all Resistance ships started firing as well. Just like Finn they were holding nothing back. They wanted to scare the First Order starfighters so as to give time for their X-wings to interfere. 

Inside the hangar, the seven X-wings were getting ready to launch. They all had been at a five-minute readiness status, the second best status possible. The best readiness status was the one-minute alert but in that case the X-wing engines should be continuously operational, which would both shorten their lifespan and cost the Resistance valuable fuel they could not easily find. 

The First Order attack was fast and well coordinated, another proof that they were an improved version of the Galactic Empire. Their military planners had studied the X-wing readiness status and they had taken that into account when making their attack plans. From the moment the Resistance had realized they are under attack to the moment the TIE fighters were within range to attack less than four minutes had passed, not enough time to scramble the X-wings. 

The First Order starfighters that attacked the Resistance ships were painted in dark colors to make them less observable to their flak gunners. But they could not mask the white color and the light the exhaust fumes of their engines made. A well-trained gunner with the assistance of a good computer system could observe the exhaust fumes and use them to determine the starfighter distance, speed, and direction and then use that information to shoot it down. 

Finn had been one such gunner. Ironically, it had been the First Order who had trained him how to best fight against it. It was the third time he applied such training against TIE fighters. He continuously fired against the enemy starfighters. But he soon realized they were really hard to hit, harder than expected. At random intervals, they made left or right turns that were totally unpredictable. They must be elite pilots, Snoke's best. s

"One minute to launch starfighters!", the familiar female voice of calmness announced in the hangar speakerphones.

"Listen up people!", Poe shouted on board his X-wing fighter to the six other pilots under his command. "They are more in numbers! But we are more in courage! Do you remember the Starkiller base? Do you? Did we blow it up?"

"Yes we did!", the men shouted in unison.

"DID WE BLOW IT UP?", Poe shouted.

"YES WE DID!", the men shouted even higher.

"DID WE BLOW IT UP?"

"YES WE DID!", the men screamed louder than ever. 

"SHALL WE BLOW THEM UP?", Poe asked.

"YES WE WILL!", the men screamed.

"All right then! Let's kick some First Order ass."

General Leia Organa had observed the whole conversation from a monitor on the bridge. "You are becoming a leader. I wonder whether you will become a General", she told herself. 

The TIE fighters made their first attack run. Every squadron attacked its designated target. All spacefighters used their cannons and maneuvered to avoid the Resistance flak fire. After the first run, half the squadrons moved to the left of the Resistance formation and the other half to the right in order to attack from two fronts. This would saturate the defenders' flak fire. Moreover, the energy shields of the Resistance ships had their limits. If a ship was attacked from two sides, its shields would have to be active to cover a larger area. Since there is a maximum limit to the total power an energy shield has, covering a larger area means that each square meter of the protected area had now less capacity to deflect enemy hits.

The squadrons of enemy fighters made their second attack run, divided in two groups. Thirty seconds remained for the X-winds to launch. Two squadrons attacked Raddus from the direction its hangar entrance was and two from its opposite. This time the First Order supplemented the use of cannons with rockets. They fell on Raddus energy shields and although they didn't penetrate it, they severely weakened it. Finn almost fell from his chair when a rocket fell close to his position. 

It was then that Finn saw them. It was almost impossible to observe them but here they were. Three fighters were approaching Raddus in addition to the many squadrons already attacking. But these were of a different kind. They were smaller and slender but Finn was certain they were stronger and deadlier than the rest of the ships attacking them. They were almost impossible to observe because their exhaust fumes were not white. They were red, the dark red of a hidden distant fire in the night. 

 

Kylo Ren and his two wingmen were piloting the three starfighters. They were more advanced models than the TIE fighters the other pilots used. They were smaller and more compact, having the more capabilities at a smaller size. They also used more advanced fuel. This made them better fighters but also much more expensive ones. They were the Silencer class starfighters.

At a distance barely able to use his missiles Kylo Ren turned his Silencer fighter toward Raddus, closed his eyes, and fired two missiles, which started their deadly journey towards the Raddus hangar. He trusted the Force would make them go exactly where he wanted them to go. He also trusted that the missile bombardment of the TIE fighters had weakened the energy shields of Raddus and his missiles would easily penetrate them.

 

Since the exhaust fire of the missiles Kylo Ren fired was white, Finn had no problem observing them. His instinct told him they were heading for the hangar. "Poe?!". He immediately tried to shoot them down. Or at least to shoot down one of them and trusting the shield would hold. He turned his flak gun to the first missile and released a volley of fire. 

It didn't work. A missile is always smaller and almost always faster than the starfighter firing it. After a few seconds desperately trying to hit them, Finn sensed the ship trembling. And then he fell from his chair, the result of an explosion inside the ship.

The first missile Kylo Ren fired hit the defensive shield of Raddus. It didn't penetrate it but it neutralized it. It would take a few seconds for the shield to recover its strength and be able to absorb damage again. But during these precious seconds Kylo's second missile hit the hangar door. 

It was ten seconds before the seven X-wing fighters would launch. They never would. The missile hit the hangar door, disabling it. 

 

Kylo's wingmen were elite pilots. They knew when an opportunity presented itself and they exploited it. Each of them fired two missiles against the hangar door. 

 

Poe Dameron was an experienced pilot. He had survived many difficult situations because his senses, his mind, and his instinct were top-notch. It took him an instant to realize what would happen within the next seconds. He immediately opened his X-wing hatch and gestured his pilots to do the same. 

"Everybody away from the hangar!", he shouted while running to assist a wounded hangar worker. They didn't have much time, only seconds before the next missiles hit. Three pilots had already opened the hatches of their planes and were climbing out of them, while the other three had just started doing the same.

It was then when a second missile hit the energy shield. Captain Dameron was the only one who realized the vibration. He instinctively ducked for cover. And that saved his life. 

Just like Kylo Ren's attack, one missile was used to temporarily neutralize the shield and another one for the actual attack while the shield was still out of commission. The second missile blew the hangar door. Pieces of the door fell on Poe's X-wing severely damaging it. In addition, two hangar workers were killed. 

"Evacuate the hangar! Evacuate the hangar!", Poe shouted. One of the pilots had been wounded and Poe assisted him. 

Only a few seconds later, a third missile hit the hangar. One of the X- wings blew up. The others would soon follow unless...

Poe run to assist another Resistance member who struggled to stand on his feet. Together they exited the hangar. Then he approached a control panel. 

"I don't know if everyone is out but if we don't stop the fire the whole ship will blow up.", Captain Dameron told a number of people gathered around him. "Who knows how to seal the hangar?"

A young man stepped forward. He pressed some buttons on the control panel and the doors that connected the hangar with the rest of the ship closed.

"Open every external hatch. If the air leaves, the oxygen leaves and the fire stops"

The young man gave a nod. Simple, yet practical. He pressed more buttons, the hatch opened and the air left. The fire that had started to engulf the hangar was extinguished. 

 

Meanwhile, the battle raged around the three Resistance ships. The weakest of them was hit with multiple missiles and soon its engines stopped. The three squadrons attacking it had already lost three starfighters trying to destroy it but they were determined to finish the job. The ship's bridge was out of commission, its shields were totally gone and half its flak guns had stopped operating. 

"Stop attacking the auxiliary and focus on the other ships!" The order came from General Hux and was addressed directly to all surviving members of the three squadrons. It was an order that didn't please the pilots. They had lost three of their people attacking the ship and wanted their revenge. But orders were orders and the thirty-three TIE fighters moved to attack the corvette. 

"Sir, my pilots are more than capable of destroying the ship", an officer said. He was overall commander of the squadrons.

Hux was annoyed. How could that subordinate question his orders? But the General understood. It was a matter of pride and personal worth to let his men finish the ship. There was no reason chewing the other officer out for making a reasonable suggestion.

"Commander, I am certain your men can do the job. But they have already done their duty. The ship's engines are gone. I don't want your men risk their lives trying to finish a doomed target. They will be of more assistance helping the other squadrons." The major seemed satisfied but not completely so.

"Besides, the faster the battle finishes, the more lives these three squadrons will save from the other nine. And of course", Hux added, "the challenge will be bigger for their skills." The major nodded in agreement. Some army men are so easy, Hux thought. 

"All right Commander. Let's finish the job your men did. Fire the lasers."

Capital ships like Supremacy have many different kinds of guns for their protection. The biggest of them are able to destroy ships up to corvette size. 

A few seconds a powerful laser beam hit the auxiliary vessel. It didn't destroy it outright though. A few people on board were killed. The rest run for the escape pods. Then a second laser beam hit the ship again. And then a third. Only a small number of the escape pods managed to leave the ship. 

 

Meanwhile, Raddus flak crews were successfully defending their ship. Their shields were almost down but they had managed to somehow understand the pattern their attackers had. They already had managed to shoot down some of the enemy fighters. Finn was the most successful of them, having managed to shoot two of them himself. 

Ninka wasn't so lucky. The three enemy squadrons attacking it had lost ten fighters. They were trying to avenge the loss. Soon three more squadrons came to assist them. Sixty one fighters against one light cruiser.s

Vice Admiral Holdo was on board Ninka. She knew it would not take a long time for them before they lost their ship. Their only hope was to hold as long as possible and then escape to Raddus. If one added the D'qar base survivors, there were two hundred people on board the ship. Holdo had already ordered all pods ready for launch. 

Abandoning the ship was not an easy decision. On the one hand, you left a doomed ship. On the other hand, you had to use escape pods, vessels with no shields, no armor, and no weapons. If they escaped using pods, they would be all slaughtered. 

In the midst of chaos and confusion, Holdo managed to spare a few moments to think of one particular person. 

In the end, the ship could not be salvaged. The six squadrons teared its defenses apart. It costed them two additional fighters and their pilots. Holdo moved her vessel closer to Raddus to ease the movement of her people towards the heavy cruiser. 

"Abandon ship Admiral. Our flak gunners will cover you." General Leia Organa's orders were clear. 

Despite the chaos, the ship's evacuation was an orderly matter. Unfortunately, the spirit of revenge for the destruction of Starkiller Base was so strong the First Order fighters attacked the escape pods although this made them an easy target for Raddus flak gunners. Finn had his third victory for the day. Another gunner destroyed another TIE fighters. The price was heavy though. Two escape pods were lost to First Order fire. 

It was time for Raddus to escape. It was time for a hyperspace jump. 

All the surviving squadrons were now focused on Raddus. They expended all their remaining missiles attacking the bridge. Despite losing two more vessels in the process, they managed to blow it up before Raddus managed to escape in hyperspace. 

 

In all, the First Order had lost thirty-five fighters attacking the Resistance. They had managed to destroy seven X-wing fighters in their hangar and two Resistance ships. The most important casualty though were the people. The auxiliary ship carried two hundred people. Only forty of them made it to Raddus. Holdo's ship carried two hundred people as well and about one third of them didn't make it. In all, out of the eight hundred people of the Resistance, more than three hundred had lost their lives.


	9. The first Jedi Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke continues training Rey. Then he tells her how the Jedi Order perished during Palpatine's reign. He also tells her who Darth Vader was and his mistakes in the past. That causes a misunderstanding.

It was a new morning in Alch-To. Luke and Rey woke up in their huts. Chewbacca also woke up on board the Millenium Falcon. He was hungry but the only thing he could eat was fish and cow milk.   
It was time for some swordsmanship training. "The Force will help you, but you need to help yourself. You need to improve your skills" Luke told Rey. 

"I know how to use a staff", was Rey's reply. 

"Oh really?", Luke said in a challenging smile. So they dueled.

Rey was really skilled in the ways of dueling. She was fast, agile, and knew how to cover herself from many directions. She probably had to fight for her life on a daily basis. After all, a young and lonely woman in a lawless place should know how to protect herself. 

However, Rey was no match for Luke Skywalker. The Jedi Master using his one handed cane easily outmatched and disarmed her. Again and again, Rey lost her staff to Luke's superior training. Rey was disappointed.

"OK, time for some mental training."

 

"This is the First Jedi Temple. It was here that the first Jedi came to being. It was here they first realized their enormous powers in the Force."

"The start of that powerful union." Rey whispered. She felt as if stepping of sacred ground. She was moving very slowly and very silently. She was even holding her breath. 

"Don't worry. They cannot harm you. They are all gone. Gone for ever.", Luke said in a cynical and somewhat ironic voice.

Rey was shocked. What was the matter with the Jedi Master? Why was he disdainful for his own people?

"They are all gone now. They were purged more than five decades ago. A Sith Lord took care of them."

"You mean Palpatine, Master Skywalker, don't you? Order 66?"

Palpatine was Chancellor in the Galactic Republic. He was also secretly a Sith Lord. When he became a Chancellor with dictatorial powers thanks to a civil war he orchestrated, he decided to get rid of the Jedi both because they were enemies of the Sith and because they were a threat to his absolute power. After a group of Jedi Masters failed to defeat him, Palpatine issued Order 66, a planned order that labeled all Jedi as traitors and called for their immediate execution. 

Order 66 was a total success for Palpatine and almost a total disaster for the Jedi Order. Only a handful of Jedi survived out of a population of thousands. The Jedi purge helped Palpatine rule the Galaxy with an iron fist for more than two decades.

"Although a Jedi myself, I have to admit they had it coming. They never figured out who Palpatine was. Only one Jedi did. He was a young, sensitive, idealistic man, very strong in the Force and very capable as a pilot and a fighter. And how did they treat him? With suspicion and contempt. They were so arrogant." Luke's voice was full of bitterness. 

"In the end they found out about Palpatine. But how did they choose to solve the problem? They didn't think to engage pro-democratic members of the Senate. Instead, they tried to arrest him themselves. And then their plan failed and they had no contingency plan. They were thousands of them and yet they couldn't organize a more thorough arrest party."

"Even if they had arrested Palpatine, what would have happened? Order 66 probably would have been activated then, and the Jedi would have been labeled traitors who had overthrown the legitimate head of the Galactic Republic. Their attempt to stop the Sith lord only accelerated their own downfall while accomplishing nothing."

Rey had heard about the stories. But listening them from a Jedi Master was so different.

"Master Skywalker?"

"Yes. Rey."

"The one Jedi you mentioned, the one ignored by the others. Was he your mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi?"

"No Rey. He was one of his students. He was Anakin Skywalker...better known as Darth Vader."

 

Rey could not understand that. How had such a good person change so much and become such a source of evil and destruction? She asked Luke.

 

"Anakin was very strong in the Force. But he was born a slave in miserable conditions. He had no father and he left his mother when he was eight.

"Anakin was like many kids who take the wrong path in life because they have noone to guide them. The Jedi only told him to suppress his feelings and to just shut up and get on with the program. It was their motto back then. It only made him vulnerable to the influence of Palpatine. The rest is history.

"After the war was over, I was the only Jedi Master left. I had the duty to rebuild the Jedi Order. But just like my predecessors, I failed."

"I failed to see that one of my students, who had a strong tendency to fall to the Dark Side had actually gone too far. I failed to see how far he had gone. When I tried to interfere, it was too late and my interference only made things worse.

"I believe you have met that student. He currently uses the name...Kylo Ren."

"Kylo Ren?" Rey's shock and confusion were beyond measure.

"Yes. Kylo Ren."

"And Darth Vader...Anakin Skywalker? You are Luke Skywalker. Who was Darth Vader? Your uncle?"

The Jedi Master lowered his eyes. "No Rey. Anakin Skywalker was not my uncle. He was my father!"

 

Running to the cave exit, she unholstered Vader's lightsaber and turned it on.

"Kylo Ren was your student? What kind of Jedi Master are you?"

"Listen Rey, I have made my mistakes and..."

"Why didn't you help Kylo Ren? Why didn't you help the Galaxy? Why?"

"Turn off the lightsaber Rey. We really need to talk."

"You are the son of Darth Vader! The son of a monster!"

They were both outside the cave now. The day had passed. It was night outside and the wind was blowing. 

"Rey listen to me. I..."

"Why?” She used the Force to push him to the ground.

"This is not going to end the way you think!" he said. In a fluid motion, Luke Skywalker stood on his feet, unholstered his lightsaber and turned it on. 

He could recognize Rey's feelings. He had had the same feelings...when fighting against his father on board the second Death Star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of a duel between Rey and Luke was not a bad one. But just like other good ideas in the Last Jedi film, it did not go too far. You want to make a duel? Use some lightsabers please!


	10. A Vice Admiral takes charge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holdo had to take charge of the Resistance. She finally meets Poe and they discuss their prospects for the future. 
> 
> Meanwhile, Hux explains Ren how hyperspace tracking technology works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this version, Holdo actually talks and listens like an adult. And yes, Poe fully trusts her.

"Yes, I understand she was your sister. But we have lost so many people we cannot afford to keep her body inside Raddus. We must jettison it like the others." Vice Admiral Holdo could see the tears in the young woman's eyes. But what else could she do?

"Could I at least open the bag and take something from her? To give it back to our parents."

"Of course Sergeant Tiko. But do it fast."

Sergeant Rose Tiko opened the body bag that contained her sister's body. With gentle moves she removed a necklace, like the one she wore. It was a simple chain with a semicircle like a half noon in the middle of it. It was something simple and cheap and Vice Admiral Holdo assumed it had significant sentimental value for her. Then Rose kissed her dead sister's forehead and zipped the body bag.

The First Order attack against the Resistance had caused a lot of death and destruction. Only four hundred people remained alive. The corpses were all put in body bags and loaded in spare escape pods. They would be jettisoned soon. It was a great health hazard to keep all those bodies abroad. 

At the same time, Captain Dameron with a group of people had managed to close the holes in the hangar bay and was trying to salvage as much fuel as possible from the damaged X-wing fighters. All seven of them had been partially or totally destroyed and none of them could fly again. Three pilots were dead and the rest were seriously wounded. 

The attack on the ship's bridge had been very severe. Everyone on board had been killed, with the exception of General Leia Organa who had been critically wounded and remained unconscious. Since Admiral Ackbar had also lost his life on the attack, Amilyn Holdo became head of the Resistance. 

The three escape pods with the dead bodies inside were stripped from fuel, food, medical supplies, and everything else of value. They were left to float in space. The gravity of a nearby star would soon attract them. In a few days the star would burn them and nothing would be left of them.

 

"I am satisfied with both of you. You General have managed to use the way of the science and locate their ship. You Kylo have used the Force to also locate them and to hit their fighters before they launch. Force and science combined."

"Supreme Leader, we have destroyed two of their three ships. The remaining one is damaged. We shall locate it again.", General Hux said.

"In a few days we will find them again. I have faintly sensed the presence of General Organa."

"You both know what to do. Search and find them." Snoke said. Both men left the Supremacy throne room and went to their posts.

"Getting ready?" Kylo asked Hux inside the elevator.

"I have some ideas", Hux replied.

"So do I. The Resistance will help...whether they realize it or not."

 

"How are you Poe?" , Finn asked.

"Exhausted and disappointed. It took us hours to repair the hangar bay. But the worst part was that I couldn't do anything to help. They blew up my X-wing!"

"It was a bad day for you Poe. But it was not your fault. You did what you could."

"How about you Finn?"

Finn opened his pouch and picked a small black bottle. There was a smile on his face.

"What is that buddy?"

"It is a gift for me...by the other gunners of the ship. It is nothing special, just homemade alcohol. It tastes like vegetables with machine oil. In other words, it is awful. But it is the reason they gave it that counts."

"And the reason was?"

"I was the top gunner on board Raddus during the First Order attack. They confirmed I shot down three enemy TIE fighters."

"I am so proud of you buddy!". Poe's said with his best smile, a smile that came out of his heart.

 

Vice Admiral Holdo was almost overwhelmed. She was the only senior officer on board Raddus. Out of the six senior Resistance officers, four were dead, and one – General Organa – was unconscious. She had to lead what remained of the Resistance almost on her own. 

Despite the obstacles, Holdo was a true and effective leader. She integrated the crews of the surviving ships to Raddus, promoted people to cover the losses of more senior personnel, and personally supervised the repairs needed for the cruiser. It was a process that would take days and left her almost totally exhausted.

Holdo was in the verge of mental and physical collapse. She had worked harder than anyone on board. She needed a rest. She also wondered where the man she loved was.

Then she saw him. Captain Poe Dameron and his friend Finn. In just two seconds, her tiredness and exhaustion vanished. She was fresh again. She wondered whether Poe would have time for her tonight. 

"Admiral! I would like to talk to you for a while." It was Poe.

Holdo's heart almost stopped. She turned around to face him, trying to suppress the wide grin on her face.

"I am all ears Captain", she replied trying to remain expressionless in front of Finn.

 

"This is our hyperspace locator system", General Hux told Kylo Ren. "It sends electromagnetic signals through hyperspace, acting like a radar."

"When a spaceship makes a hyperspace jump, it suddenly disappears from one area and appears in another. We only need to compare the signals between the disappearing ship and the appearing one to have a match."

"As you describe it, you must cover both areas.", Kylo mentioned.

"Yes. If your electromagnetic signals don't cover both areas, you will see the ship disappearing, but not reappearing. Or you can see a ship appearing in an area but you won't have any idea where it came from. Of course, we don't care where they came from but where they are going."

"It would be nice to have a locator on my starfighter", Kylo said.

"Yes it would. But unfortunately you can't. You see, the hyperspace locator needs huge signal generators that require massive amounts of energy to operate. Even a super star destroyed cannot generate that amount of energy. Only Supremacy, the biggest ship on our fleet can."

"But we can scale down, can't we?", Kylo asked.

"Certainly. But then the area the signal can reach would be much smaller. It would be so smaller that we wouldn't be able to find anything meaningful.

"Hyperspace jumps depend on two parameters: spaceship mass and distance." Hux continued. "To move a bigger ship, you need more energy. To move a ship with a bigger jump, you also need more energy. 

"Finally, you need some time to recharge your hyperspace engines after a hyperspace jump before you attempt the next one."

"For that reason", Kylo said, "if one ship performs a jump, you have time to locate it before it makes another one."

"Yes, provided you do it fast enough before it jumps again and you lose it. For that reason you need to send your signal far away to be able to locate the enemy ship. That is why we have the hyperspace locator on board Supremacy: so as to cast a wider net.

"Of course, searching has its limitations. First of all, you can't locate the enemy ship immediately. You need to scan a wide area, and it takes time for the signals to come and go. Secondly, the signals that return are very weakened. You can only use them to locate big ships. So forget small X-wind starfighters."

"Don't worry General, I took care of them. I bombed their hangar." Kylo said. 

A small red button turned on next to the hyperspace locator.

"We have located them again", Hux said. "Let's get ready our own hyperspace jump."

 

"There is something we need to discuss Admiral", Poe said.

"The two of us Captain? Or will your friend join us? It is Finn, isn't it?"

"Yes. You defected from the First Order and saved the Captain's life. I suppose you know something about them we don't. Very well gentlemen, follow me."

Vice Admiral Holdo let the two men inside a small cabin she used. Its former user was a senior officer killed in the attack against Raddus. 

"So what is it? I am all ears." 

"I was with them for years", Finn said. "What Captain Dameron wants to say is that I have learned a lot about them. I was a mere private but they showed us a lot of stuff in training and in propaganda videos to make us proud for the supposed moral and scientific superiority of the First Order."

"Is there something specific you have learned Finn?"

"Yes. The Captain and I were concerned how the First Order found us so easily. Just a few days after D'qar and they pinpointed us. Even more, to attack us they used their biggest spaceship, Supremacy itself."

"Yes. It is Snoke's flagship. Is that specific information you want to share related to either Snoke of his flagship?"

"Yes, it is. I have only told Poe – Captain Dameron – but in one of those training videos, they mentioned a locator. A hyperspace locator."

"It is a device that can locate spaceships that have jumped to hyperspace. It is possible that they have used it to find us." Poe said.

"And why to use their flagship for that? I only though it was a symbolic gesture. Their flagship against ours. I always thought Snoke wanted to personally observe the final blow against the Resistance.", Holdo said.

"It is more than symbolism. It seems the locator is stationed on board Supremacy."

"But why only Supremacy? They have hundreds of capital ships."

"Supremacy is their biggest ship and can therefore produce more energy than the rest."

"Actually there is another reason", Holdo said. "The First Order is based on the former Galactic Empire. Which means Snoke is afraid that maybe he will have the fate of Palpatine and be killed by one of his subordinates. So he doesn't want other spaceships to have the ability to locate Supremacy in case of a coup against him breaks out."

"A nice guess Admiral", Poe said. 

"Thank you Captain", she replied. 

Feelings of love aside, the Admiral was not convinced. 

"Well, gentlemen, when they attacked they wanted blood. They didn't attack just to harass us. They attacked in order to destroy us. It was only because of the skill of our flak gunners that we escaped."

"In addition", Holdo continued, "they found us not so far away from D'qar. They might simply have cast a very big and wide net. Your theory gentlemen has merit, but I am not fully convinced."

Poe looked disappointed. Holdo immediately got worried.

"I mean, your theory is really good. I am not convinced there is anything we can do about it."

"Perhaps Sergeant Tiko could help. We have heard she is an expert in radars and electromagnetic signals", Finn suggested.

"I have already talked with her and she has no good ideas yet. Meanwhile, we have a small surprise for the First Order...that actually takes into account your idea", Holdo said. 

 

The hyperspace jump went as planned and a few thousand kilometers away, an object with roughly the same radar characteristics of Raddus appeared. General Hux ordered a number of squadrons to be ready for attack.

Kylo Ren was skeptical though. 

"I cannot sense the presence of General Organa on board."

"Could she be in a state where she is cut off from the Force? Maybe wounded or...no longer alive?", Hux asked.

"No", Kylo insisted. "I would have sensed her. What if the ship is a decoy?"

"Even if it is a decoy, the real target cannot be far away. We shall attack and destroy it anyway. They will run out of decoys in the end."

 

Eight squadrons of TIE fighters, armed with missiles and bullets attacked the target as soon as it was close enough. Or at least that is what they thought. 

When the squadrons got closer, they realized what they were really hunting. It was an escape pod with a special transmitter. The transmitter generated a strong electromagnetic signal that could fool a radar or a hyperspace locator. It was so strong that from a distance it could fool someone it was Raddus.

The First Order formation leader ordered just one TIE fighter to attack. It only required one attack run with cannons to destroy the small pod. The only casualties for the Resistance were the pod and a droid programmed to pilot it.

Meanwhile, the real Raddus had managed to decrease its own signal avoiding the attack. When the First Order blew up the pod, its signal stopped.

"Admiral", an intercom message came. "The decoy is gone."

"Right. Hyperspace now and send another decoy the moment the jump is over", she ordered. "Call me again only if an emergency arises." 

"We can't defeat them. We can only evade them. But we are running low on fuel and supplies. We need to refuel somewhere or we become sitting ducks", Amilyn said to the man next to her. The man was Poe Dameron.

"You knew about the transmitter Amilyn", Poe said. He was in her cabin, lying on the bed. They were both naked. "You had a plan with decoys ready."

"I didn't know anything Poe. I just planned for the worst." She gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. 

"At least you and I are together", he said. "For as long as it lasts." He hugged her.

"For as long as it lasts Poe." They remained hugged till they were both asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish they had written Holdo as a reasonable, polite, able and willing to listen officer. What a waste!


	11. Student against Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey surprises Luke with her skill, determination, and strength in the Force. However, the old Jedi Master had one trick to play.

Rey's attack was fierce and to Luke's surprise well executed. She fluidly moved the lightsaber blade like an experienced swordswoman. Her attacks were also well thought and executed. 

To the Jedi Master's relief, the attacks didn't seem to aim to kill or wound but only to put pressure on him. There was still hope. Rey hadn't totally lost her mind.

Another thing that surprised Luke was Rey's strength with the lightsaber and with the Force. It appeared as if her own strength surpassed his own by a wide margin. It was the first time she had unleashed her full potential and what he saw and felt impressed...and also frightened.

Luke had no intention to kill or wound Rey. But he had to teach her a lesson. For starters, he had to defeat her. Since she was apparently stronger than him in the Force he had to use a technique a former Jedi Master had used.

Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi was not the most capable or the most powerful member of the Jedi Order. Such an honor could only go to Grand Master Yoda or Anakin Skywalker had he not fallen to the Dark Side. However, it was the weaker Kenobi who defeated Anakin, who had by then become Darth Vader. To do so, Obi Wan Kenobi had used a new, purely defensive lightsaber fighting style called Soresu. In such a style, a not so skilled Jedi could use his lightsaber to deflect all kinds of attacks either from a lightsaber or a blaster. 

Obi Wan Kenobi was weaker than Darth Vader by a wide margin. However, when they dueled in Mustafar, Vader had no way to break Kenobi's defense. He tried and tried, he summoned the Force, he used every technique he had but Kenobi could not be defeated. Kenobi had just one advantage over Vader: he was less impulsive and more patient. Gradually, Darth Vader became more and more unhinged. In the end Obi Wan Kenobi took the higher ground and made a final plea for Vader to stop. But Vader attacked...and almost lost his life. His lack of calmness exacerbated by Kenobi's wearing down of him, and his disadvantageous position were the factors that led to his defeat.

Luke Skywalker used a similar technique against Rey. Rey attacked in more and more intensive ways. The Jedi Master only needed to carefully deflect her attacks till he gradually led her to the right place. Then he would make his attack.

The two duelists were fighting in the open. Luke let Rey gradually push him around the island, giving her ground in a specific path. That path led to the same cave they had been a few minutes before. Inside the cave Luke had a surprise for Rey. 

Rey was surprised. The famous Jedi did not offer a lot of resistance. He was losing ground at a steady pace. Had he become too old? Had he become too weak? Or was she simply too good and too strong for him? She didn't know whether to feel good for herself or bad for the man in front of her. Could she defeat the Jedi Master? 

Luke kept retreating till he reached the cave. Rey followed him. It was almost time to use his trick. But first he had to gain some distance from her. That was easy. Soresu style is less tiresome than others and Rey had just started getting tired. After a prolonged but futile attack in front of the cave entrance, she broke the engagement for a few seconds and Luke found the opportunity he needed.

Rey took a few seconds to catch her breath. She had pushed Luke around a lot, that was for certain. But what if he had just played a trick on her? Unlikely, she thought.

Rey entered the cave. The Jedi Master was standing in the middle of it. His lightsaber was glowing in the night. 

"Stop it Rey. You have made a terrible mistake. Stop before it is too late."

"You were the son of Darth Vader! You are the uncle of Kylo Ren! How much evil do you carry inside you?"

Luke's face took an angry and serious look. "This is your last chance Rey. Lower your lightsaber. You have used the darkness in the Force to fight me, the one mistake I did and almost turned me! Stop it now!"

But Rey didn't listen. Summoning all of her strength, she attacked.

It only took one strike. It was swift and powerful. Luke's lightsaber fell to the ground. Luke made three steps backward and Rey followed him. She lowered her lightsaber and its glow lighted the face of the Jedi Master. Her face was a mask of anger and determination.

"You have failed Kylo Ren and fell to the Dark side. And you have failed me!"

"This if your final chance Rey. Give me your lightsaber or I will take it by force!", was Luke's reply.

"I have just disarmed you”, Rey replied. “You are not much of a Jedi Master, are you?"

A powerful force hit Rey in the back. The same force pushed her body forward. She fell to the ground like a shack of stones. The fall and the hit were so sudden she couldn't breathe. At the same time her lightsaber fell from her hand and started moving towards Luke in front of her. 

How could this be possible? She had strength in the Force and she could deflect Luke's Force attacks. 

Then Rey saw the lightsaber immobile in front of Luke. Then she saw it moving...and moving till it reached the entrance to the cave. In the faint light that came from the entrance of the cave, she saw a hand grabbing the lightsaber. Someone was hidden there, probably the same person who attacked and disarmed her.

The hand moved and the lightsaber came close to the person who now had it. Rey could recognize the beard, the eyes, and the face of... Luke Skywalker?

"But how? How did you move from in front of me back there?", Rey asked. Her chest was in pain from the impact to the ground. 

"Look again", Luke said. She turned around and she saw the Jedi Master and his lightsaber. But then the lightsaber became more and more faint. The same happened to the Jedi Master. A few seconds later they were gone. 

Luke Skywalker emerged from the shadows and turned the lightsaber off. He was holding his own in his other hand. 

"You did not listen to me Rey. You did not want to understand. Why should I teach someone who does not listen?". Luke's voice was calm but it was the calmness before the storm.

"The lessons are over for now. And they may never start again. Go somewhere and think whether you still want to learn and I will go somewhere else and think whether I still want to teach."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The duel between Luke and Rey in the Last Jedi was not a bad idea. But honestly, Luke losing by someone who had just learned the ways of the Force? And come on: where were the lightsabers?


	12. General Leia is back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General Leia wakes up from coma. She summons Holdo, Dameron, Finn, Rose, and Maz Kanata via hologram to decide their next steps.
> 
> At the same time in Alch-To, Luke and Rey both receive advice from unexpected sources.

"We lost them again", General Hux said. Supreme Leader Snoke was expressionless.

"How did that happen General? You had assured me the hyperspace locator could find a ship on hyperspace."

"They have used a decoy that produced the same signal as Raddus. However, the real Raddus was close and performed a hyperspace jump. It will be days before they can perform their next one and they are running out of fuel. We have the signal from the jump and we are scanning the area they went. It is a matter of time before we find them again."

"Then find them General. Dismissed."

Hux left, uncertain whether Snoke was understanding or annoyed. 

 

It was another twelve hour day for Admiral Holdo. She tried to keep herself busy both for the sake of the Resistance and because she didn't want to constantly think of Poe Dameron. She loved him but she didn't want to advertise their happiness to a sad and grieving crew. Besides, she would sleep with him in the night.

At the end of the day, some good news came to the Admiral. General Organa had woken up and she was in a stable condition. Holdo went immediately to the hospital.

"The doctors said I will make it", General Leia Organa told her friend. "They also told me you did a remarkable job on board Raddus. You are a natural born leader Holdo."

"Thank you my Princess", Admiral Holdo replied. "So what did the doctors say about your situation?"

"Fortunately, I can move to my cabin. But I will still need constant medical attention and I will have to remain in my bunk for days. But I prefer the cabin. There is classified information I cannot have lying around here. And I want to have meetings with my staff."

"About the staff..."

"Yes?" Leia inquired. "Are they OK? How is Admiral Ackbar?"

"He is gone. You are the only survivor of the bridge attack."

"Damned! How many senior officers are alive?"

"Just me and you I am afraid."

"Is Captain Dameron OK?"

"Yes, he is. His X-wing was blown up but he is in perfect health." 

"Will you help me move to my cabin? You just need to push the stretcher."

When they reached the cabin, Holdo helped Leia Organa lie on her bed and then rolled the stretcher back to the hospital bay. 

When she returned and closed the cabin door, General Leia Organa had a wide grin on her face.

"How is it going with you and the Captain?"

"We had a meeting with Captain Dameron yesterday. Finn was also with him." She described the meeting.

"I think Maz Kanata might have some information about the matter. I will try to contact her. Did Finn ever leave you two alone?" 

"Actually... yes. I actually... slept together with Poe." There was a wide grin on Leia's face. 

"You are an adult, so I don't have to tell you to be careful. Does anyone else know?"

"No. And it remains that way", Amilyn Holdo replied.

 

Rey was alone in Alch-To. She could not go to a hut and she could not go to the Millenium Falcon. Her only option was to sleep in the open. 

Both sides had made mistakes, she acknowledged. Why had nobody in the Resistance told her about more details Kylo Ren and Darth Vader and their connection with Luke Skywalker? How could she trust the Jedi Master if he had two close relatives who had been corrupted by the Dark Side? What if the last Jedi had fallen to the Dark Side as well?

At the same time she had to acknowledge her own mistakes. Why had she been so bad-tempered? What had gone wrong?

It was fear. She had just learned the terrible news. They had scared her to the core. It was as if she had to face Darth Vader himself, the most feared man in the Galaxy. She had actually faced his son. 

Rey closed her eyes and tried to sleep. There was nothing she could do right now.

 

"Maz Kanata is a friend of us", Leia Organa said addressing the people around her. They were Vice Admiral Holdo, Captain Dameron, Finn, and Sergeant Rose Tiko. 

"She has helped us smuggle valuable materials for the Rebel Alliance the bad old days when Palpatine was Emperor. She keeps helping us every time we need her.

"The hyperspace locator you have mentioned is not something new. The first plans for its creation date back to the days before the Empire. As the Rebel Alliance, we tried to find out whether such a device existed, and if it did how to both use it and create countermeasures to prevent the enemy to use it against us.

"Nothing came out of it though. The Galactic Empire fell without creating a single prototype of the device. We only managed to find some incomplete blueprints after we took control of the Imperial Archives. We assumed they hadn't developed such a technology.

"We now believe we were wrong. After the Empire collapsed, many Imperial military officers and scientists left for the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy. They managed to bring many secrets and plans with them. The hyperspace locator was one of them.

"During the Rebellion against Palpatine, we had to use some not so ethical means to gather resources and information. One of those means was the use of smugglers. Maz Kanata was one of them.

"When Palpatine fell, we no longer had use for the network of spies and smugglers we had set up. However, when some of us realized the First Order was a threat, we partly reactivated the network. Since the First Order wanted to remain hidden in order not to attract a Galactic Republic attack, they used the smugglers as well.

"Maz Kanata has the best information about First Order technologies. She often surpasses our own Resistance intelligence. For that reason, I gathered you here for a teleconference with Maz." Saying those words, Leia Organa opened a closet next to her bed. A small holographic projector was in. She gestured for Poe to pick it up and place it on the table.

 

"Maz, can you hear us?", Leia Organa asked.

"Hello Princess. It is good to hear from you. It's been a long time."

"Indeed. Can you tell us about the hyperspace locator?"

"Oh, I got it. To ask me about that means you are cornered really hard."

"Actually, we are on our last ship and a couple of hidden bases, so yes. You can say we are pretty bad here."

"How can I help you? I don't have the plans or a working device."

"Yes. It is too big to have one around. We want to develop countermeasures for it. We are too few left. We need to regroup and reorganize. Is there a device, a blueprint or a person who can help us?

"Well...can you make a hyperspace jump with a small craft? If you can, there is a person who knows a way to help. He is a former First Order scientist. But they kicked him out of their organization."

"How so? Had he second thoughts about the values of the Order?"

"No, he was simply addicted to gambling.", Maz Kanata said.

"How didn't they kill him then? They are the sort of people who blow up an entire planetary system for their goals. They wouldn't find it unethical to just kill a single person."

"You are right Admiral Holdo. But the explanation is simple. They put him on trial, so he bribed the judges. He was addicted to gambling but at least he made a tidy profit from it."

"I see. Where is this person now?" , asked Poe.

"He is a gambler in a gambling city. I hear he is quite successful."

"Let me guess", Leia asked. "Cloud City? I used to know someone there."

"No, it is actually Canto Bight", Maz replied. 

"How do we approach him? How can we convince him to join us?"

"I think there is a way. You just have to..."

 

Luke Skywalker was in his stone hut and was sleeping. While asleep, a person came to visit him in his dreams. He was Master Yoda, Luke's old mentor. 

"Alone for a long time you have been, Master Luke!"-

"Master Yoda! Am I dreaming or is it really you?"

"Dream not what you see that is. Dream only what it seems."

"So it is really you. After so many years."

"Cut yourself off the Force, you Master Jedi."

"I did. It was only the Cataclysm that woke me up."

"Undecided you are, for the new recruit you have."

"Yes. I am in a dilemma. Rey is a young and inexperienced girl. It is not her fault that she is ignorant of what happened. But the way she reacted was the wrong one. A Padawan must have temperament."

"Cloud City Padawan you mean? Or Alch-To?"

"You know how to hit the nail on the head Master Yoda."

"Galaxy a Jedi hero needs. And a Jedi teacher for the hero to train."

"But does the Jedi hero deserve the training? Or is Rey too immature yet?"

"A sculptor not always the best material has. But always the best statue he build must."

"I will think about it Master Yoda."

"Young Skywalker, mature Skywalker. Immature hero then, mature hero now. But now like a teacher and a sculptor you must think."

 

At the same time, Rey was dreaming. Or was she?

In her dream, she was inside a huge room. It was a throne room, exactly like the one Snoke had. But it was empty. There was noone sitting on the throne and noone surrounding it. She was alone in the middle of it.

A few seconds later, she heard steps. They were getting louder and louder. They were the steps of an approaching person.

Rey turned to see who was approaching, only to see...Kylo Ren.

“Good evening Rey.”

“Kylo Ren? Is that you? Or am I dreaming?”

“You are not dreaming. There is a Force connection between us. I am now asleep in my quarters but I can connect with you.”

“How did you invade my mind?” Rey was furious.

“I did not invade your mind Rey. I just visited it. I need to talk to you.”

“I wish I had my blaster or my lightsaber right now. I would kill you even if it was just a dream.”

“I am here to talk to you. Spare me the threats.”

“What do you want then? Speak up!”

“I have to tell you some things about your master...”

 

General Organa had decided that one or mostly two people would take the last remaining X-wing and use it to go to Canto Bight. Poe Dameron was the obvious candidate.

“I will go too”, Finn said.

“I was hoping you would say that, Finn. All right gentlemen. Get ready.”

“Yes, General”, both men replied in unison. 

“Sorry to part with your company, but I need to get some rest. I have already disobeyed the doctors' instructions so far. And you need to get ready. Admiral Holdo will arrange everything you need. Dismissed gentlemen.”

 

“All right. Let's do it buddy”, Poe said. 

“Yes, buddy! I love the action. It's better than sitting in a cold place waiting for fighters to appear.”

“It will be a little cramped there. The X-wing is a single seat fighter.”

“Don't worry. I am not into guys”, Poe said ...and then burst into laughter. Finn laughed as well. It did wonders to resolve the tension. 

“OK. I take the special drink and I am ready.”

As on cue Vice Admiral Holdo entered Poe's cabin. 

“Ready gentlemen?” she asked. Both nodded yes. 

The three of them went to the damaged hangar bay. The X-wing was ready to take off. BB-8 was already on board.

“I have arranged for the X-wing to be ready. We have also added an extra seat for Finn. It is still cramped though.”, Holdo said.

“You were very fast Admiral”, Finn said.

Both men entered the fighter, saluted the Vice Admiral, and Captain Dameron pressed a button to close the hatch. 

When the X-wing cleared the hatch, Admiral Holdo returned to her cabin. 

“Just return safe Poe”, Amilyn said. There were tears in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mission to Canto Bight is about to happen. But this time, it happens with everyone's consent and not behind the bosse's back.


	13. Canto Bight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Poe go to Canto Bight. They visit a casino where their mark is and establish contact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A somewhat breather chapter. It has some humor and some subte. James Bond references

The X-wing cleared Raddus and was ready for a hyperspace jump.  
“BB-8 are we ready for the hyperjump?”

BB-8 bleeped. 

“OK Finn. BB-8 has replied.”

“What did he say. I don't speak droidese.”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of replied, or sort of we are ready?”

“Sort of we are ready.”, Poe said. “OK, let's do it.” Captain Dameron pressed a button, while Finn stared in panic. Nothing seemed to happen.

“Did we make it? I didn't see anything.”

“Sure. You don't feel the hyperspace jump. But look in front of us.” Finn had to stand up to do that.

“My god. So much light. I have never seen so many lights on a planet's surface during the night in my lifetime.”

“This is what happens when you are rich and not at war. Or when you are rich, the Galaxy is at war and you profit from it.” There was en edge in Poe's voice. “OK, let's find a quiet place to hide the X-wing and disembark. Do you have the camouflage net?”

“Yes, I was sitting on it for the entire journey”, Finn replied. “It is too uncomfortable to sit on it. My ass is on fire.”

“Sorry to hear that. Anyway, do you see the sea in the south and the dark area in the north?”

Finn could make the outline of the sea. It was like a dimly lit silver floor. He could see some lights on it, probably ships traveling in the night. 

“The dark area in the north are farms. They will look green in the light of day. Just like the camouflage net you are sitting on. Do you see the white bag hanging from the wall?”

“Yes”, Finn replied.

“There are tuxedos in there. We will wear them.”

“I have never worn a tuxedo in my life. I don't even know what a tuxedo is.”

“Oh come on, you are gonna like it. You can't hide a weapon in it though. It is a little too tight.”

 

“Welcome, welcome to Canto's Finest, the finest casino in Canto Bight, and allow me to say, the best casino in the star system. This is a place, I would say a haven where you can forget your troubles and your worries and be able to look Lady Fortuna in the eyes!”

The above words were the standard welcome phrases from the casino automated announcement system. For first time visitors, it sounded thrilling until they had heard it five times within five hours. Then it became annoying. For the others, it was just a distraction they no longer cared about. They had more important things to consider.

 

In one table, a middle-aged man was sitting and concentrated hard on the cards in front of him. He was thin, about fifty, with bald head and wrinkles. He looked more like a professor than a professional gambler. Just like most men around him, he wore a neatly pressed tuxedo.

The reason the man looked like a professor was because he had actually been one in the past. His knowledge in electromagnetic waves and hyperspace transmission of information had made him a researcher for the First Order. His gambling addiction had made him lose his post.

He didn't mind though. He was a successful gambler. Just like every night, an attractive woman half his age was sitting next to him. She was drinking a martini and gently massaging his back.

“The joys of success, right honey?”, he asked her.

“Right you are professor”, she told him and winked to the casino man opposite her. He dropped a card on the table. 

 

A white man in a black tuxedo and a black man in a white one entered the casino. The familiar and annoying voice welcomed them. 

“Welcome, welcome to Canto's Finest, the...”

“Fascinating”, Finn said.

“Till you hear it all the time”, Poe replied. “Then it gets boring.”

“Did you see our man?”, Finn asked.

“Relax. We must be patient. It is not enough to find him. We also need to recruit him. Not an easy feat. It will take another visit or two to do it.”

“We are running out of time”, Finn whispered. “A few days and Raddus...”

“I know. But as an officer, I have to remain calm in a crisis. Worrying will not get us anywhere.”

“How are we going to get him out? We only have room for two.”

“I hope you don't mind stealing a luxurious spaceship.”, Poe replied. 

“Are we becoming thieves now?”, an edge in Finn's voice.

“Trust me buddy, if you learn the things I know about some of the people in here, you will beg me to steal anything”, was Poe's reply.

 

Finn was definitely out of his element in the casino. He had never seen so many well-dressed men and so many gorgeous women in one place. He had never seen a demonstration of wealth of such magnitude. All of his life experiences were in frugal accommodations like a First Order barracks or a Resistance barracks. 

Poe on the other hand seemed unconcerned. He had seen many places like that in his life. He was dressed as if he was born in a place like this, with his perfectly fitting tuxedo. But he didn't like it. The pretentious, swallow, selfish world around him made him sick. What sickened him most was how many of those people had made the vast fortunes they were spending: by selling weapons and equipment to the First Order or by investing First Order capital and keeping a commission fee for their services. 

 

A few minutes later they had found their man. He perfectly matched the photo Maz Kanata had provided them. A young and attractive woman was next to him. His girlfriend of the month perhaps? 

Poe could not resist thinking of Amilyn Holdo in the young woman's clothes. How would she be? Magnificent!

“We have found him”, Finn said quietly while patting Poe in the back and derailing his friend's thoughts.

“Yes buddy”, Poe said. “Let's play some cards.”

“I don't know how to play.” was Finn's honest reply.

“In principle, the game is easy. Learning the basics takes only a few minutes. Go to another table, watch, and you will soon learn about it.”

“I don't think it is that easy.”

“The basics are easy. But to win, you need to be skilled and able to observe details. You are a first class gunner, so observing details is easy for you.”

“Where are you going to be?”

“To the table with the professor. Come and meet me when you feel confident. Here, take these.” He handed Finn some marks.

“These are marks. You need them to play in the casino. But be careful and don't overspend them. I don't have many to give you.” The marks were genuine but Poe didn't want to know how the Resistance had managed to obtain them.

The next minute Poe was sitting three seats away from the professor. The casino man politely talked to him but the rest of the table ignored him. Only the woman next to the professor paid attention. She approached him.

“Have I seen you before Mr...?”

“Dameron. Poe Dameron.”

“Is the sunset on Tatooine always binary Mr. Dameron?”

“Yes. And a smuggler in Tatooine always shoots first.” It was the coded dialogue the Resistance would use in case they ever tried to make contact with the professor. The smuggler was of course the legendary Han Solo.

“Very well Mr. Dameron. I will talk to the professor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Dameron. Poe Dameron." I couldn't resist. I am a HUGE James Bond fan. One of the reasons Poe is my favorite new trilogy character is because he is the closest we have to 007.


	14. “Why we look for Skywalker”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snoke summons Kylo Ren and General Hux. He analyses them the reasons the First Order needs to find Luke Skywalker.

“How long is it going to take General?”, Snoke asked.  
“One day, two days at most” was the General's reply.

“Will you get them this time?”.

“I think I will. They changed their radar signatures but we have stored the new ones. They can't use them again or we will find them. In any case, they are almost out of fuel. They can't last for long and they are constantly on the move.” 

“Keep searching General. Now a question for both of you.” Hux and Ren leaped to attention.

“What about Luke Skywalker? I haven't heard anything for days. Where is he?”

“We still can't locate him, Supreme Leader. It is a vast Galaxy and he hasn't used the Force yet”, was Ren's reply.

“Do you understand why we hunt him? Do you understand why I need to find him?”, Supreme Leader Snoke asked. 

“It was Luke Skywalker who blew up the first Death Star. It was he who convinced Darth Vader to become Anakin Skywalker again and kill Palpatine. It was he who became a legend for the galaxy. It was he who reestablished the Jedi Order. I know you destroyed it Kylo but this time you won't be around to destroy it again if he succeeds.”

“Actually, Supreme Leader there are differences between now and then”, Hux said. “He convinced Vader because he was his son. I don't think he has such influence now. Or has he?”

“When Palpatine became Emperor, it took two decades for the Rebel Alliance to be fully formed. There had been no organized core of resistance back then.”

“Even if we destroy the Resistance and conquer the Galaxy, we are going to face opposition in one form of another. But if the Resistance survives the opposition will be much stronger.”

“Imagine now what happens if the last surviving Jedi Master trains a new group of recruits ready to attack us. They will use mind attacks from unknowable distances and all our arsenal will be unable to defeat them.”

“The power of a superweapon is insignificant to the power of the Force”, Kylo Ren said.

“Now imagine if the legendary Luke Skywalker returns from his exile to face us one last time. Imagine him going down in a blaze of glory. He will no longer be just a legend. He will be a martyr. Now imagine how many recruits this is going to give them.”

“Now imagine if we managed to capture him and turn him to the Dark Side. Luke Skywalker, a traitor! What a devastating blow is that going to be!” 

“But would it ever be possible to turn Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side?” Kylo asked.

“Palpatine did so to his father. So yes, I consider it possible”.

And I did it to him. It only lasted a few minutes but it was enough, Snoke thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luke Skywalker falling to the Dark Side? Snoke would certainly like that.


	15. The narrative of a Jedi Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke Skywalker forgives Rey for her behavior and explains why he left everyone to go to Alch-To. In addition, he provides info about his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is a long chapter - about 5000 words. I did not want to break it in smaller parts because I view it as a whole.

It was morning in Alch-To when Chewbacca knocked on Luke's door.  
“Hello Chewie. What can I do for you?” Chewbacca growled for a few minutes. 

“So Rey talked to you. She wants to apologize. She understands she was wrong. That was fast.” Chewie looked puzzled.

“I mean, I could feel she didn't have it in her. I could also feel she has realized her error. OK, it was partially Leia's fault. She didn't tell her all the details.”

 

In the end Luke met Rey. They decided to let their past behind them and focus on the future. 

“Last night I had a dream”, Rey said. “I know it was not a real dream because I remember it so vividly. It was reality, a real connection with Kylo Ren.”

“What did he want? What did he ask from you?”

“He told me you almost killed him one night. Is it true?”

“From a certain point of view.” Rey gave him a skeptical look. Luke felt bad about himself. He had used the same excuse Obi Wan Kenobi had used against him many decades ago. Nevertheless, it was the truth...from a certain point of view. 

“I understand you have concerns. I have to admit your instincts about me were right Rey. You were afraid I had strong tendencies for the Dark Side and I have. And I have to confess, and you are the first to learn about it, that I failed. I fell to the Dark Side.”

Rey was speechless. 

“But enough about that. It is time to tell you about my past. I will include Kylo's claims in it.”

“Very well, Master Skywalker. I am listening.”

 

“It all started thirty years ago. We had just managed to defeat the Empire in the decisive battle of Endor. Do you know about it?”

“Yes”, Rey replied. “You convinced Darth Vader to change sides and kill the Emperor.”

“It almost killed me in the process. And I wonder how much of it was my work. In any case, the part I will tell you starts after the battle.”

“The Imperial leadership was gone. Palpatine's tight grip on the Galaxy no longer existed. Many planetary systems that had been neutral or pro Imperial were now changing sides. Many of the Imperials were surrendering en masse to the Rebel Alliance.”

“What did you do to them?”, Rey asked.

“We spared the soldiers and the low ranking personnel. Most of them were not ideologues or pro-Empire anyway. They just wanted a decent living. Serving the Empire was simply a job with a salary.

“For the higher in command, things were more complicated. There were disagreements among the Rebellion leadership. Some of the Imperial officers simply argued they served the legitimate authority of the Galaxy. Yes, it had not been a democracy but it was a democratic choice to end democracy and replace it with Imperial rule.

“It is easy when you fight against an Emperor to unite different people in an alliance against him. But when he is gone, you have to decide what to do. You have to administrate the vast expanses of the Galaxy the Emperor no longer rules. How do you do that?

“Do you put your own people in positions of power? Or do you keep the ones the old regime had? Are the old regime people capable or were they selected because of loyalty to the Emperor? Are the old regime people decent persons who tolerated the Emperor because they believed in the greater good of the galaxy? Or are they ideologues? Or are they simply opportunists? Does it matter what motivations they had if they are good at their jobs?

“And if you choose to replace the old regime people with your own, then what? Granted, your people are loyal to the Rebellion but are they capable administrators, lawmakers or are they simply good soldiers? Did they oppose the old regime because of genuine dislike to Imperial rule or are in the opposition only because it was not them who were the rulers?

“In other words, it is easy to say no to something you don't like. But it is very hard to say yes to the specific thing that will replace it.

“As you can easily understand the Rebel Alliance soon fragmented. There were different approaches in many things. A good example was the military expenditure. One faction wanted them at a high level, fearing a possible reappearance of the Empire, hidden somewhere in the unknown Regions of the galaxy.

“At the same time another faction wanted the army reduced in size. They argued that Palpatine had used political institutions to become Emperor and a strong army could not have prevented him. But a strong army meant he had more power in his hands to oppress the galaxy. They also believed, that we should spend the money to rebuild the devastated regions.

“In the end, the latter opinion prevailed. It was the wrong one of course, but had you asked me twenty-five years ago, I would have supported it as well.

“But it was a wrong idea. Why would you support it?” Rey asked.

“Because its proponents were right. Had the Republic been with a weaker army, Palpatine would have less of a grip in the galaxy. Many planetary systems would have been free. The Rebellion would have started a decade earlier. In fact, it was Palpatine who engineered a civil war in order to convince the Senate to increase the size of the army, while at the same time he amassed dictatorial powers.

“The Republic did not fall in one day. It was slowly and systematically undermined for years. The end of it was not like a massive hyper galactic journey. It was more like a small step on the way.

“I see”, Rey said. “They had a point.”

“Yes. Besides don't forget the part about the reconstruction. The war had caused huge catastrophe.”

“So the Republic disarmed itself. I, on the other hand had no taste for politics, like my sister had. They all seemed too slow, too inefficient, too bogged down with unimportant stuff. My sister told me that before the Old Republic fell, the same situation prevailed.

“I really felt disappointed. But I was young, confident, and let's not forget I had singlehandedly caused more harm to the Empire than any other person had. I felt that I could do a lot.

“I was a Jedi. So far I had only met three other Jedi in my life: my first teacher Obi Wan Kenobi, my second one Yoda, and my father Anakin or better known as Darth Vader. All three of them were gone though. I was the last Jedi left.

“The other three Jedi had all been graduates of the Jedi Academy. They had years of theoretical and practical training. I only had a tiny amount of time under Kenobi and a somehow bigger under Yoda. I had to learn on my own.

“But how do you learn on your own when there is nothing left? Palpatine had not only used Order 66 to wipe out the Jedi Order. He kept hunting the remaining survivors for years. He also systematically looted and destroyed every Jedi temple, every Jedi library, and every Jedi piece of information.

“Fortunately, Yoda had kept some texts in his hut in Dagobach, where he had spent the last years of his life. None had known about his location apart from him, me, and Obi Wan Kenobi. It was a good place to start.

“It appeared that Yoda had wanted to start rebuilding the Jedi order from scratch. After all, he had been the most important and the most experienced Jedi ever born. When he died he was about eight hundred years old. He had enough knowledge and experience in his head to jump start the order on his own. But he needed the Galactic Empire to collapse before he did so. Unfortunately, he passed away before that.

“Did the Empire locate and kill him?”, Rey asked.

“No, it was natural causes. I was there when he passed away.”

“To continue, Yoda had managed to save some Jedi textbooks from destruction. He also had written some texts on his own. It was really a good start. It gave me directions.

“As a hero of the Revolution, I was entitled to an X-wing fighter and as many fuel I wanted. Obviously, I didn't want the X-wind and the fuel to perform aerobatics but simply to search the galaxy for the missing Jedi information.

“I admit I was a little afraid. We had won the war but how many Imperial sympathizers remained? In addition, was the New Republic strong enough to survive another Palpatine? Or what if the ones who feared that the Empire would regroup and counterattack were right? I disagreed with the latter but I admitted they had a strong point. For those reasons, I was afraid that if I published the information I found, someone would use it to wipe the last remains of the Jedi for good. So I kept everything for myself. Of course, if I somehow lost my life, the knowledge would be lost for ever. But I considered it a smaller risk to lose my life than for the last traces of the Jedi to be lost.

“It was a journey that carried me to many different parts of the galaxy. To my disappointment, most of the Jedi temples or libraries I found were in ruins. I had no hope I would find even a small piece of information after so many years. But I persisted.

“The journey also opened my eyes to other people and other cultures far away in the galaxy. I met different races, and different people. They all shared some characteristics despite their differences.

“What characteristics Master Skywalker?”

“They all wanted to have a place to stay, some food to eat, to be treated with dignity and respect, and not to be violently attacked. Simple things like that.

“I always tried to keep my identity a secret. I painted my hair gray, just like now and I left a beard. I also tried to use my X-wind as fewer times as possible. Finally, I refrained from using the Force. I only used it sparingly and only under extreme circumstances.

“As the years passed, I could see a pattern emerging. I could see people who were poor remaining poor. I could sense that some Empire sympathizers had now become Republicans. My first instinct was to condemn them. But my second one was to try to understand: was it simply opportunism or did they care about families and loved ones and they had switched sides to support them?

“It was then that I came across the one incident that defined me and helped me understand the Force and the Galaxy more than anything else had. The place and the time period doesn't matter. They aren't important anyway. What matters is what I felt after it.

“What was it Master Skywalker? A duel with a former Imperial Officer? A daring raid against remnants of the Old Empire? 

“No Rey. It was a simple everyday encounter”, Luke replied in a soft voice.

“One day I came across an elderly couple. A man and a woman in their late seventies. They operated a small canteen where the man was serving and picking up dirty dishes and the woman was cooking. It was an average quality place with average quality food like millions throughout the Galaxy. It had only a few tables, and only two of them had people on them. Since I was hungry, I sat down to eat. Besides, I had money and they needed them more than I did.

“The only significant detail about that particular cabin was a portrait. It was a portrait of a young man. It struck me as odd that in a place where the chairs, the tables, the forks, the knives, and everything else was cheap and simple, the portrait was made of elegant and expensive wood. I assumed the young man was someone of significance to them, most likely their son.

“I could not resist the temptation to ask. So when the old man came to take my dish I asked him.”

“What did the old man say?” , Rey asked.

“He could barely contain his tears. The man in the portrait had been their son. They had lost him many years ago in the war against the Galactic Empire.

“Since I was a veteran of the same war, I decided to politely ask for more details. The man answered without hesitation: Our son lost his life in the Battle of Yavin.

“The battle of Yavin had been my first battle. I was thrilled to hear that. But then a thought crossed my mind, a frightening thought.

“What were you thinking Master Skywalker?”

“I asked the man: was your son a member of the Rebel Alliance? A pilot perhaps? I was hoping my fear would not be realized.

“No, he said. My son had been an Imperial Stormtrooper...on board the Death Star!”

Rey observed the Jedi Master was in tears.

 

“I could not bring myself to tell them that I was responsible for the loss of their son. And I never will.”

“You have the same age my son would have if he had survived the battle. Did you see combat yourself?” , was what the man had asked.

“Yes, I have seen battles. I was a pilot”, I replied.

“I think you were part of the Rebels”, the man said. “I have seen your X-wing in the runway.”

“But it is OK. I never felt bad about the Rebels. I was never an Imperial man myself. I know the Rebels killed my son but they saved more people in the process. Had the Death Star not blown up billions more would have died.“

“My son did not become a stormtrooper because of ideals. He joined them because he needed a job. So did most of the men in his unit.”

 

“I paid and left the canteen deeply disturbed. I was supposed to be a wise Jedi Master. Yet I had failed to see the good in my enemies and the bad in my friends. There is no absolute good or bad. Only shades of it.”

“Even the Jedi had their bad side. Even the Sith had their good one”, Luke Skywalker continued. 

“What was the good part of the Sith?”, Rey asked.

“Their good part was they didn't suppress their feelings, like the Jedi did.”

“And what about the Jedi? What was wrong about them?”

“They suppressed their feelings. They didn't express them freely. That made it harder for them to connect with the rest of the galaxy. They became too sterilized and too formal.”

“The Jedi when Palpatine became Chancellor and then Emperor were too stagnant and too absorbed to understand him. They also had thought that since the last Sith lord had been observed centuries ago, Sith had been extinct. But they hadn't.”

“After many years of search, I managed to accumulate enough information from various texts to restart the Jedi Order. After numerous trips I had managed to find twelve Force sensitive young people who would become the new generation of the Jedi. I am certain there were thousands more in the galaxy. A young woman in Jakku for instance.” Rey smiled with the latter one.

“So I started. I built a small Jedi temple with the assistance of my students and off we went. But then...”

“Kylo?”, Rey asked.

“His name back then was Ben. Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa.”

“What happened to him?”

“When Ben was born, his mother, who is also Force sensitive realized something was wrong with him. He was very strong in the Force, stronger than my father or I had been.”

“The problem was also that Ben had a tendency for the Dark Side. He had equal tendencies for good and for evil. This is a major difference between you and him.”

“What do you mean Master Skywalker?”

“You have a very strong tendency for the Light Side of the Force.”

“Han was Han. But my sister insisted that I should take care of her son. After all, she argued, if he became a Jedi he would greatly help the galaxy. So I accepted.”

“There were problems with Ben from the start. He wasn't disciplined, he didn't want to be responsible, and he was a rebellious teenager. I thought it was because he was still young. I had been a bit of a rebel in my teenage years you know, so I sympathized.”

“Meanwhile, the situation in the New Galactic Republic was not that good. Stagnation, a toxic political climate, and endless bureaucracy plagued it the same way it had plagued the Old Republic.”

“At the same time, a new potential enemy appeared from the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy. Its name was the First Order. It consisted of former Imperial officers, politicians, and scientists who had created a military organization that defied the authority of the New Republic. Its leader was a non-human who called himself Supreme Leader Snoke.”

“Leia believed the First Order had the potential to become a serious threat. But nobody really listened. The political climate was too toxic for that. I could also sense that Snoke was more than a political and military leader. He was also a very powerful Force user.”

“Snoke took a special interest in Ben. And for good reason. Ben was a powerful Force user. He also was the son of General Leia Organa, the nephew of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, and the grandson of none other than Darth Vader. The mixture of potential and family relations could make a devastating combination against us.”

“I could feel Snoke's influence in Ben's mind. I tried to stop it. Sometimes I succeeded, sometimes I failed. But I was an optimist. I believed in the innate good of people and their ability to improve. I still do.”

“Unfortunately, I underestimated Snoke. He had a much more intelligent and well-thought-out plan than I originally assumed. He didn't simply try to corrupt Ben. He did something much smarter than that.”

“What was that Master Skywalker?” Rey asked.

“He turned me to the Dark Side”, Luke said.

 

Rey could not believe her ears. For endless minutes she was there motionless, unable to understand.

It was Luke who broke the silence.

 

“He did not turn me completely and he did not turn me permanently, if that is what you think. It was something much subtler than that.”

“What was it then?”

“Snoke carefully and discreetly manipulated my feelings. It was a slow, gradual and long term process that lasted for years. He succeeded in making me more angry, less patient, and less understanding.”

“Whenever Ben misbehaved, I had two options. Either to talk to him and make him understand or argue with him and punish. As the years passed, I tended to choose the latter option.”

“It didn't work. Ben was becoming more and more distant. My influence on him diminished. Snoke's on the other hand increased.”

“Then the fateful night came. The night Kylo – formerly Ben – has talked to you about. So tell me what he told you about that night.”

Rey closed her eyes trying to remember.

 

It was a cold night in the Jedi temple. The Jedi students were asleep in their quarters. Only one man remained awake. It was their teacher Luke Skywalker. 

It hadn't been a good day. Ben had misbehaved again. Luke honestly wondered whether there was a future with him. He was annoyed, very annoyed. So many years, so much effort and yet nothing had happened.

There must be another way Luke thought. There is another way Luke concluded. 

Slowly, Luke entered Ben's room. His lightsaber was ignited. He had an angry and determined look in his eye.

Suddenly, Ben Solo turned around and saw Luke with his ignited lightsaber. It was pure instinct when he picked his own lightsaber and deflected his uncle's blade. It was pure instinct when he used the Force to make the ceiling collapse, trapping Luke Skywalker in the debris.

Unloved and almost killed by a member of his own family, Ben left the Jedi, left his name, and joined the First Order. Kylo Ren was born that night. 

 

“It is not how it happened”, Luke Skywalker said.

“Then tell me. Did Ren lie to me?”

“From a certain point of view, yes.”, the Jedi Master replied. “Yes, I know it's a phrase I hate, but it is the truth.

“I have mentioned about Snoke's manipulation. It had reached its zenith during that night...for both me and Ben. I was feeling restless and angry and I could also sense a powerful presence of the Dark Side in Ben.”

“I moved to Ben's room. The presence of the Dark Side was more powerful than ever. Ben seemed to be asleep and I could feel he almost had turned to the Dark Side. I needed to act.”

“I was fearful and on instinct drew my lightsaber. My anger and frustration were getting stronger. Then a thought crossed my mind. What if I removed Ben?”

“Killing him? Were you actually ready to kill him?”. Rey was shocked. “I would never expect that a Jedi Master would do that.”

“I turned my lightsaber on. No matter how disgusting I found it, the thought of actually killing him had crossed my mind. I was there, standing above him, lightsaber in hand, a strong voice inside me telling me to kill him and another one telling me to spare him and talk to him instead.”

“Then suddenly Ben woke up. He saw me and my lighted lightsaber in the darkness. Instinctively, he picked up his own. He attacked me with his own weapon. I deflected the attack...but then he used the Force and made the ceiling collapse.

“When I regained consciousness everything was gone. The Jedi temple was on fire. Half of my students were slain. The other half joined Ben. I later found out they became the Knights of Ren. Only R2 had survived.

“It was later on reflection that I understood what really had happened. It had been Snoke all along. He had manipulated me enough to make me angry and eventually enter Ben's room but not enough to actually kill him. It was a manipulation with double purpose. On the one hand, it ensured that I would act in the appropriate way to give Ben the push needed to turn him to the Dark Side.”

“And on the other hand Master Skywalker?”

“On the other hand, it was an attack designed to make me weak. Snoke's primary target had always been Ben. But what if he had managed to also get me? There were many ways he could harm me.”

“Which ways Master Skywalker?”

“First of all, I could have died when Ben made the Jedi temple collapse and burn. I believe now that the Jedi Order would somehow exist again. But my death would have set that process back for decades.

“Secondly, if I survived and remained Force active, Snoke could always locate me. He could send his own people to find and kill me. After all, the First Order has no shortage of trained troops or capital ships.

“The third option was the worst of all. Snoke would not kill me. He would convert me.

“Luke Skywalker as a First Order puppet. You are right. It is the worst that could possibly happen”, Ray admitted.

“The fourth option is what really happened. I shut myself out of the Force. I also broke contact with my sister and my acquaintances. I could not trust most of them. The ones I could trust could either be forced to betray me or tortured to do so. I wanted to protect them as well.

“I was certain the First Order would start a manhunt for me the moment they found out I was alive. Working alone though had been very helpful to me. There was noone I had shared my information with, so there was noone to betray me.

“Six years ago, I completely cut myself from the Force. I only left two nuggets of information for someone to find me. The first one was a map, that I entrusted to R2. It was a partial one though. I send the R2 to my sister Leia and the Resistance, the group of fighters she had assembled. R2 remained in low power mode. Only someone that R2 trusted and had the other piece of the map would make my old astromech droid reactivate.

“The second piece of information was something that only a truly Force sensitive person would appreciate. It was an old lightsaber that had been used both for good and evil. It had originally belonged to my father, Darth Vader. It is the lightsaber you gave me Rey.“

“Darth Vader's lightsaber?” Rey looked at it with disgust.

“There is a lot of symbolism in it Rey. A lightsaber is just a tool. It is not the tool that matters, it is its user.

“I left the lightsaber in one of the few persons I could trust. Her name was Maz Kanata. Her place was a popular one. I suspected that out of the thousands of potential Jedi in the galaxy, someone would feel the strength of the Force in it.

“I decided to find residence here on planet Alch-To. This is where the First Jedi came from. I know that if I failed, at least I would end my days in a symbolic place, the place all had started.

“When I first came, I was anxiously looking at the sea and the sky every day. I believed that it was only a matter of days. I could see that the locals around did not exactly like my presence and they barely tolerated me.

“But the days passed and nobody came. I was stranded on that small island, surrounded by endless sea. There was no land in sight. I had no company, no friends to talk to. I was completely alone with some creatures I could barely understand. I also felt bad because I was disturbing their way of life. I turned to fishing in order both to help myself get some food and to make myself more useful for the small island society.”

“The days passed and became weeks. The weeks became months, and the months became years. But nobody came. I did not want to use my Force powers to probe the galaxy because I know Snoke would find me. I only used the Force in a localized way.

“I read the ancient Jedi texts, trying to find some meaning in them. I have to admit they weren't page-turners. They were too boring and they contained knowledge I already knew after so many years of research.

“Only one book contained new information. It mentions some uses of the Force, which are very powerful...but usually deadly to their user. You have actually witnessed one of them.”

“The visual projection?” Rey asked.

“Correct.”

“What happened next Master Skywalker?”

“I tried to remain optimistic. I believed that someone would appear in the end. I also believed that Snoke, although a powerful Force user did not have a really powerful army. There had been clashes between the First Order and the New Republic but they had been minor skirmishes. 

“Then something very powerful happened. Something even a person cut off from the Force could feel. Something that convinced me that things were much worse than I had thought.”

“I believe you mean the Hosnian System, Master Skywalker.”

“I didn't know the specific location or the specific name. But I remember I felt billions of voices crying in agony and then...silence. I remember being asleep at night and waking up looking the sky in wonder. I remember the red path of flame I saw in the sky.”

“It was the Starkiller base. They had a new and powerful weapon. Much more powerful than the Death Star. It destroyed an entire planetary system in one shot.” Rey said.

“Remarkable. It was then that I decided the destruction of the base meant more than my personal safety. So, I carefully used some mind tricks on numerous First Order officers.

“It was a delicate effort. I had to carefully move from mind to mind till I found the right person. In the end, I managed to read the mind of some First Order officers stationed on Starkiller base. One of them was of particular interest to me.”

“Who was he?”

“Actually it was a woman. I don't know who she was, only that she was responsible for base security.”

“How did that help you?” Rey remained skeptical.

“When Chewie over here, Han, and another person...”

“Finn. That was Finn”, Rey said.

“There was a specific place they needed to infiltrate. Let's say on of the guards became distracted.”

“The officer I had a special interest in was a very brave person and also a very smart one. However, that particular day she made some elementary mistakes.”

“I am so sorry then, Master Skywalker. You really did help.”

“I was sad though. I wondered whether I could have acted sooner. But I suppose I couldn't.”

“Then a few days passed. I had renewed hopes someone would come. And then...one day...I saw it. The Millenium Falcon!”

“Chewie told me you had a long story with that ship.”

“Yes, it belonged to Han Solo my best friend. He had...acquired it, so to say. I made my first trip in space with that ship. I was delighted. Not only someone had come, he had come with the Millenium Falcon!

“Then the door opened and I saw a young woman holding a stuff coming to my place. She climbed some stairs and she saw a hooded man...who slowly turned, slowly removed the hood and stared at her.”

“Yes, that was you Master Skywalker. Then I gave you your old lightsaber. But if you had seen me, why didn't you come and meet me? Why did you remain hooded and waited in the distance?”

“Oh well, you might say I have a flair for the dramatic”, Luke Skywalker replied with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story of Luke Skywalker... something the movie lacked. If only they had removed 70% of Canto Bight and added more of Luke.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Finn have a manly conversation while Leia and Holdo try to organise the Resistance counterattack. Meanwhile, Captain Phasma goes to Canto Bight... and a small child uses the Force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is a big chapter and contains multiple parallel stories: Finn and Poe, Leia and Holdo, Phasma.

The First Order outnumbered the Resistance by at least three orders of magnitude. The only way for the Resistance to prevail was to survive, regroup, recruit new members, and make a gradual counterattack. The struggle against the First Order would be a lengthy one. 

When you only have a handful of troops, the best solution is to disperse them. Then, your enemy will not be able to kill them all in one strike. After consulting General Organa, Holdo divided the survivors into smaller detachments. Each one of them would have the right analogy of specialized personnel to be a self-sufficient unit. Each detachment had between ten and twenty people and would use one escape pod to leave Raddus. 

“I believe in each and every one of you. For the time being, the Resistance is too small. It is up to you to make it grow. You are the seeds that will grow into a great threat for the First Order.”

Privately Holdo believed that most of the detachments would not survive for long. The surviving ones would not be of considerable success, she thought. But there was no other way. Putting all of your eggs in one basket was a recipe for disaster. She was certain Raddus would be destroyed within the next days. She only hoped she wasn't on board when that happened. 

It had been another fifteen hour long shift. She badly needed the rest. But before going to rest, she had to visit Leia Organa.

General Leia Organa was awake. 

“How did it go?”

“The first two groups are gone. I hope the cloaking technique Sergeant Tiko has created works.”

“So do I. Now get some rest, you need it”, Leia said.

 

“How is it going buddy?” Finn asked.

“He is a careful winner, I would say”, Captain Poe Dameron replied. “He wins money, but not enough to attract attention.”

“Are you also winning Poe?”

“I only played small amounts. I won some, I lost some. I am about the same. How about you?”

“I tripled it.”

“You did what?”, Poe asked in surprise.

“I tripled the amount you gave me.”

“OK, Finn. But listen. It is good to win but you should keep a low profile. If you win too much too soon, you attract a lot of attention. So cool off buddy. Go for a walk around, see the place. And remember: don't get drunk.”

“Right, Poe.”

“One last thing, Finn. When you return to play keep a low profile. Stay on another table, bet small amounts of money, and be casual.”

“Sure. I got carried away I guess. I bet too much too soon.”

Poe really considered Finn a good guy and a reliable friend. Unfortunately, Finn was still somehow awkward, because of his inexperience in such social settings.

 

The hours passed. Finn followed Poe's advice and didn't stay in one place for long. His wealth increased at a steady pace. He had excellent observation skills, a good memory, and a cool head. When Poe found him, he had already increased his initial wealth ten fold, a feat that impressed Poe.

“Perhaps we should station you here Finn”, Poe said. “In the end you will earn enough money to buy the galaxy from the First Order. Did you keep a low profile as I said?”

“Yes, I did. I also observed the people around me. They were too sentimental, too superstitious, too willing to bet their entire fortune in one pair of cards.”

“You will be impressed buddy if you learn the amounts of money they are lost every day in here.”

“I already am.”

“But a lot of these people don't care. They earn millions every year. Some even earn billions.”

“In any case, we won something tonight. How about you Poe? Did you make contact with our target?”

“Indirectly, yes. I did with his mistress. We will meet the professor in one or two days.”

“Better make it one. We are running out of time”, Finn said.

“I know buddy. But most people don't know about the Resistance here. Let's face it, we are only a few hundred people in a galaxy of trillions. Most people in Canto Bight only care about the Resistance if we offer them money to sell us weapons. They don't care about us or our schedules.”

“Since the professor has left, we can do the same”, Captain Dameron said. “The X-wing is not far away.”

“Hey, do you forget something buddy?”, Finn said and flashed him the money he had earned.

“Or we can get a decent room in a decent hotel, with clean sheets, breakfast, and a hot bath!”, Poe said. 

“I prefer the second option”, Finn said.

“I knew it! I just mentioned my beloved X-wing and you didn't like it.” Poe laughed. Finn looked at him in mock disappointment. 

“OK, OK you win. Just between us, I prefer the hotel myself”, Poe said. “But don't tell BB-8!”

“How about some dinner first? I buy”, Finn said. “I am sure it will be better than army rations.”

“You really underestimate the high nutritional value of army rations”, Poe said. Both men burst into laughing.

 

“It is so beautiful. So peaceful. And the view is magnificent.” , Finn said. Both men were sitting on a table on board a floating restaurant that overlooked the sea. The restaurant was dimly lit, and it was more a romantic place for couples than a place for buddies. 

“It is the kind of place you go with the love of your life”, Finn said.

“Hey buddy, it was your choice. Unless, ... I am the love of your life.”, Poe said grinning.

“You are not my type”, Finn replied. Both men almost fell down with laughter.

Just like every conversation between buddies, there are periods of intense humor and periods of very serious conversation. It is in those moments the greatest secrets are told and the strongest bonds of friendship are formed.

“There is something bothering you Poe”, Finn told him. “Don't deny it. I can see it. Something is eating you.”

“I will tell you but you will promise two things. First of all, it stays with you for ever. And two, it is a very serious matter, so no humor allowed.” Poe was sad, serious and in pain, Finn could see that.

“Is it about a woman Poe?”

“I have strong feelings about a particular woman. She is y a member of the Resistance.” 

“It is hard to make a relationship during a war. You love someone, then she is gone. Then you hate yourself for letting her down, for not being able to save her. That is what eats you right now, right Poe?”

“That's right Finn. But she is not an ordinary woman. She is strong, intelligent, a leader on her own right, someone I would gladly follow if she gave me an order. She is not a little girl Finn. She is a grown up lady, beautiful, stylish, and elegant.”

“You are really fond of her. Does she like you as well?”

“Yes, she does. Actually, she started it. We are a couple for the past three years.” 

“Who is she Poe?”

“She is Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.” Finn's jaw fell open.

 

“Let's change topic. We are here for a mission after all”, Poe said.

“OK Poe. So what do we hold against the professor? I have seen the Maz Kanata briefing but I think there is more to it.”

“You are right Finn. I have additional info General Organa has provided me. According to this, our friend the scientist had always been a gambler. He used to lose a lot of money in the past. He had always been pro Republic and anti Imperialism from an ideological point of view but it was the imperialistic First Order that paid better money.”

“Money to keep his gambling addiction under control.”

“He didn't control it. He just could afford losing money again. The First Order also offered to pay his debts to loan sharks who blackmailed him if he joined them. He wasn't enthusiastic but his wife convinced him to cooperate. Mind you, that was many years ago when the First Order was still considered a weak group of harmless people with inflated egos.”

“So what happened next?”, Finn asked.

“The First Order needed him in order to develop a new hyperspace locator technology. You don't need to be a genius to understand why they needed that.”

“To track enemy ships. Very useful when locating small numbers of vessels.”

“Exactly. The First Order army is smaller than the one the Galactic Empire had but it is more efficient.”

“And the scientist didn't want to help.”

“He immediately realized what they were asking him to do. But his gambling addiction was too strong. Eventually though he improved.”

“He kicked the habit.”, Finn said.

“No, he didn't. He simply became a better gambler. Eventually he started turning a profit from gambling.”

“And then?”, Finn asked.

“His wife had convinced him to work for the First Order in order to pay his gambling debts. But he no longer needed them. So he argued he should quit, while she wanted him to stay with them. In the end the arguments became so fierce they separated.”

“Too bad. But how did he leave the First Order? They don't take such things lightly.”

“Correct. When you blow up an entire planetary system, you don't exactly care about preserving human life.”

“Our friend the scientist” Poe continued, “did not immigrate to the Unknown Regions where the First Order was located. Instead he worked for a front company in Coruscant. The First Order had less of a grip there and it was risky of them to send an assassination squad. They were still not ready for war. Such an assassination might tip the New Republic off. Besides, the Starkiller base was not ready yet.”

“We blew that base up”, Finn said. “There is a star in its place now.”

“True. But don't forget it destroyed an entire planetary system with lots of industries, military installations, spaceships, soldiers, and most of it innocent human beings. The end result is still a net victory for the First Order and with a huge margin.”

“Yes, you are right. In the end they won. At least they won't use the base again.”

“In the end the professor divorced. The First Order had no leverage on him anymore. His wife no longer influenced him and he no longer had gambling debts. They could only fire him but he was about to quit anyway. So they did the only reasonable thing they could. They took legal action against him.”

“It doesn't sound that dangerous to me.”, Finn said.

“It is not physically dangerous”, Captain Dameron replied. “But it is costly and time-consuming. In the end, he used his lawyer and bribed the judges.”

“Maz Kanata made it sound more dramatic.”

“Maz Kanata has a flair for the dramatic”, Poe replied with a smile. “Just like Luke Skywalker if General Organa tells the truth.”

“In any case, the First Order had contacts in the New Republic and they could use them to destroy his career. So, the scientist decided to become a full time gambler. He set foot in Canto Bight and kept a somewhat low profile. He earns enough money to support himself and his gambling addiction plus the affection of attractive women.”

“And how do we influence such a person? What can we do about him?”

“As I mentioned, our friend is pro Republic. So far he felt safe because even he didn't believe the First order were that strong or ruthless. But after the Hosnian System destruction, he is afraid. Whoever kills billions will not hesitate to kill a single person.”

“I have seen him while playing. He was looking around suspiciously and nervously. The First Order will try to cut loose ends or simply try to prevent us from getting new technologies.”

“You are right Poe. Just one question though. Why didn't we act sooner? There might be more time for us.”

“First of all, we don't know whether the information the scientist has is reliable. Two, we don't know whether it is applicable. Three, we didn't know hyperspace locators existed till one of them located us. And four, war is not an idealized state of affairs. There is always friction and incomplete information. Even Vice Admiral Holdo didn't know about the scientist, despite the fact she is a senior officer.”

“We have a meeting tomorrow. Let's hope everything will turn out fine.”

 

Meanwhile, a tall and attractive woman exited one of Canto Bight casinos. She was blonde, with piercing blue eyes, a fit body, and she wore an elegant night dress and high heels. As a woman, she enjoyed the attention of men. As an army officer she preferred to keep a low profile. However, every woman in the casinos was impressively dressed so in a way she was well camouflaged for her mission. Men would pay attention but they would also pay attention to every other woman around them. 

“Did you find him?”, she asked her troops inside the casino. It had surprised her how well secret First Order agents could wear tuxedos and blend in. And she had to admit the man escorting her was good-looking. 

“Be discreet people”, the man next to her asked. “This is not the Outer Rim.” He didn't need to say many people in there were military contractors and the First Order had to be careful around them.

“In a few weeks, we won't have to be. We are going to party here!”, a young agent replied.

The First Order senior agent was furious. “Keep your thoughts to yourself and your eyes open you fool!”, he said. 

“Undisciplined fools”, the woman mentioned. “I know how it is. I had some in my unit.”

“What can I say. I will sort him out later tonight.”

“No. You will sort him out tomorrow. At noon.”

“How do you know that Captain?”

“Because you will get me out for dinner as you already proposed, and then you are going to come to my room, not yours. And trust me Mr. Senior Agent, you won't be able to wake up before noon.”

“I never thought you would accept, Captain.”

The tall and attractive blonde woman stopped him. In a swift motion, she removed his and her ear comm. Then she passionately kissed him on the lips. 

“I come from a war zone. I have faced death and destruction. I have caused some of it myself. And as a warrior, I think I deserve some sort of reward for my services to the Order.”

“As you wish Captain Phasma. I know an excellent restaurant a few minutes away.”

 

It was about four am and the two men were walking on their way to their hotel. They had laughed, they had cried, and they had told each other the good stories that form a good friendship. 

While walking towards their hotel, the two men walked past a stable. Strange creatures were inside it. They looked like horses but they were different, with wider heads and different legs. 

“Racing animals”, Poe said. “People ride on them while rich people bet on them. Do you see over there?” Poe pointed to a big, dimly illuminated circular fence.

“Is it where they race?”, Finn asked.

“Yes. And do you see these little people down there? They are kids. They are forced to work so early to take care of the animals before the sun rises.”

“Child labor. After the Hosnian System, this is...”

“No!” Poe cut him short. “There is not much of a First Order presence on this planet. It is more or less neutral ground. It is the Canto Bight authorities we should blame for allowing it to happen.”

“Wait a minute Poe. That means that for thirty years, the Republic you so much admire and want to protect didn't do much for those kids down there.”

“You are right buddy.”, Poe admitted. “The New Republic is like the Old Republic. Slow, inefficient, bureaucratic, full of incompetent and corrupt people in positions of authority. There is a big but though”, Poe said.

“Which is?” 

“You still have more freedom than in an Empire. And besides, do you really think that if the First Order captures Canto Bight these kids will be free? No, they won't. The First Order will simply use its troops to crush the people protesting against child labor.”

“Maybe you are right. But come on Poe. It's thirty years and everyone either participated in this problem or chose to ignore it?”

“We are not perfect. Nobody is perfect. But the greatest strength a republic has is its ability to sometimes listen. You don't get that in an Empire. If a Republic no longer listens, the solution is to open its ears, not to cut its head and replace it with a different one with authoritative opinions inside it.”

 

While Poe and Finn were watching the stables, a young boy came out of it carrying a big empty bucket. He was going out to bring water for the animals to drink. Both men carefully looked at it. 

The boy walked for about fifty meters and then stopped, put the bucket under a hose, and turned its valve. When the bucket was full, the boy turned the valve to close the hose and tried to pick the bucket up to return to the stables. The bucket however was too heavy for the boy to lift. Despite his efforts, the bucket couldn't move. 

The boy looked around him. It was night and noone was to be seen in a distance. He didn't see Finn or Poe because both were well hidden behind a fence. Satisfied that nobody was watching, the boy extended his right arm. Then something almost magical happened. The heavy bucket was lifted in the air and it remained there as if a strange force had moved it. Both men couldn't believe their eyes. 

Still looking around him, the boy started moving towards the stable. The bucket moved next to him as if an invisible assistant had picked it up. Then the boy opened the stable door and both he and the bucket disappeared inside.

Poe and Finn remained speechless for the rest of their walk to their hotel room. What had they just seen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phasma was virtually absent in the Last Jedi. Here, she makes an appearance... and she is without her chrome armor.


	17. The Knight and the General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren and Hux have a meeting. They agree to remove Snoke and share his power for themselves.

Kylo Ren and General Hux were standing side by side on the Supremacy bridge. It was the most protected part of the ship, able to withstand heavy missiles and even ramming attacks by medium-sized ships.

Hux didn't like Ren. He had never been a friend of his and had never liked him. He was a General, yet Kylo and the rest of the Knights of Ren had the authority to order First Order troops without any need for approval or consent. There was a deep resentment between the First Order officer corps about that.

Kylo Ren was also not a huge fan of Hux or the army command. They did not understand the ways of the Force and they were too egotistical to admit it. They were also too rigid in their thinking.

However, both men had reluctantly realized there were some exceptions to their rules. General Hux had realized that Kylo was a special type of person. He was not only the strongest - after Snoke himself - in the use of the Force but also had intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn about the army structure and science. Kylo Ren also had a grudging respect for Hux, who admitted there were limitations to what science and technology could do, limitations a Force user could overcome.

Both men had the same plan in mind. And both men knew that only if they cooperated, it would become a reality.

"What is the status?" General Hux asked. A young lieutenant looked at him.

"We have narrowed our search to only a few specific hyperspace signals. In a few hours we are going to have a match", the lieutenant replied.

"We can board them", Kylo Ren suddenly said. 

"What? This is impose..." Hux started saying. But he immediately stopped. "I understand you have made an analysis and you are here to discuss it with me", Hux said.

"Correct. It requires both the Force and conventional military assets. For security reasons the details have to remain classified, so I request a private discussion with you General."

"OK. Interrogating some prisoners wouldn't hurt." Hux turned to his subordinates. "None is to disturb us unless it is absolutely necessary."

The two men entered a small conference room without windows. As soon as they were in, Hux closed the door, activated an anti-espionage device on the conference table and looked at Kylo.

"It had to sound plausible", Kylo said.

"It did. We are really going to board the Resistance cruiser. Or at least we are going to try."

"Snoke is playing us", Kylo said. "Divide and conquer between the Knights of Ren and the First Order Army."

"True. But we have better ideas. You are the only Knight of Ren who is smart enough to respect", General Hux said.

"I hate to admit it but I respect you. You are the only one I dare to cooperate with." 

"So, what do you want Ren? What is your gain from all that?"

"Snoke is removed. He no longer interferes with my mind, and I become Supreme Leader. And you don't oppose that."

"Only if I become Supreme Commander of all First Order armies."

"Done. You know of course that if you betray me..." Kylo Ren removed his lightsaber from his belt, although he didn't turn it on.

"If you betray me, the entire army of the First Order will hunt you down."

"We both can harm each other Hux. Now let's focus on the practical parts. What happens when a heavy cruiser rams a capital ship?"

"It depends where exactly it hits", Hux replied.

Kylo Ren holstered his lightsaber, smiling. They only had one shot but it was a good one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Killing a powerful Force user with a lightsaber he was too fool to leave just next to him? Come on! The death of Snoke was stupid. Why didn't they just ram Raddus down his throne?


	18. A farewell and a meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey leaves Alch-To. Skywalker promises he has a final trick to play. Finn and Poe meet the professor. Phasma tries to locate the professor as well. Amilyn has a favor to ask.

"OK Rey this is the moment we say goodbye", the Jedi Master said.  
"Aren't you joining us Master Skywalker?", Rey asked.

"No, I won't. To join you means that I will use the Force. I have searched my feelings and I know Snoke is going to turn me. Unless of course I never use the Force and that is going to make me useless." 

"Then what are you going to do Master Skywalker? Your X-wing is in the water. I have seen it. It no longer can fly."

"I have one final trick to play Rey. Then I will be free. I will ascend to a higher plane of existence."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...it is time...for the Jedi...to end."

Rey entered the Millenium Falcon. R2 and Chewie were already on board. Their destination was a lonely planet where the Rebel Alliance had created a base a long time ago. There were tears in her eyes. 

Rey looked at the books the Jedi Master had given her. They were the first Jedi books ever written. She would have to use them herself to become a Jedi Master and then create a new Jedi Order. 

Luke Skywalker had also given her a note with instructions to read it on board.

“A small army fights against a big army. A soldier from the small army Is face to face with the enemy General. Does he kill the General? Does he spare the General? Or does he take a third option? What is the best strategy to defeat the enemy army?” 

 

“Time to wake up Agent”, Captain Phasma said. She had already been up for hours doing calisthenics. Her perfectly trained body was a killing machine even without weapons and her armor.

The Senior Agent of Canto Bight had just woken up. He was naked under the sheets. Captain Phasma was not exaggerating when she said he couldn't wake up till noon. The Agent was impressed that after a night with her where she had the most active part, she still had the stamina for heavy physical exercise.

“If I had continued you would have to spend all day recovering”, Captain Phasma said. 

“I believe you, Captain”, the Agent admitted. A small part of himself wished she had. More than a small part of himself.

“I always have iron self-discipline. I always choose my lovers and they never choose me. I slept with you because it wouldn't jeopardize the mission. Back to work now.”

“OK, Captain. We don't know where the professor is and we don't have access to the casino's data vaults. During the previous years he had a very predictable behavior. But after the Hosnian System attack he became unpredictable. The war is open now, so he has assumed we are going after him.”

“He is right on that. This is our mission here. Any protection he has?”

“Just one female escort. She could be a bodyguard or a mistress or both.”

“We will take her out as well. The Hosnian System attack has been a great catalyst. It destroyed the Republic fleets and left us in a position of power. If we kill someone here, they will be too frightened to accuse us. We only have to ensure that it does not blatantly appear we did it.”

“You are right Captain. We have searched half the places he could be. We don't have a big crew here because our mission was simply intelligence gathering of low importance. He got lucky yesterday. But either tonight or tomorrow...”

“Let's get moving then Agent.”

 

“I had informed Maz Kanata about my whereabouts when I met her. What were you waiting for and didn't come earlier? The war has started weeks ago.”

“You are right professor”, Captain Dameron replied. Finn, Poe, and the professor were sitting inside the professor's hotel room. All three of them were carrying blasters and the professor's girlfriend was standing outside the door holding a hidden weapon as well. It was certainly inadequate defense against an elite platoon of stormtroopers but at least they had to try. 

“You should bear in mind though”, Poe Dameron continued, “that we had some misfortunes along the way. We lost our main base, all of our fighters, half of our transports, and half of our people.”

“I am really sorry to hear about that”, the professor said. “I seem to be too concerned about myself.”

“That's OK professor”, Dameron said. “We also didn't know that the First Order had developed hyperspace location technology. We didn't want to risk sending people we couldn't afford to spare looking for you.”

“You have a good point, Captain. When I was still working on that technology, noone of us believed it could work. It required too much energy. Only a very big spaceship could have it.”

“They have actually built one professor. According to our intelligence, it is called the Supremacy and it has more than two million crew members.”

The professor reached under the bed and picked up a box, the size of a briefcase. He pressed some buttons and the box opened, revealing a small gray, metallic device and a small book.

“This device”, the professor said “is something I created myself. It took years of effort to make it. It is a jammer, a device that confuses the hyperspace locator.”

“Impressive professor”, Poe said.

“The device cannot protect you from conventional radar though. You have to combine it with stealth technology to do so.”

“We understand professor.” Poe stood up. Finn, who was standing next to the window with his blaster drawn turned around and nodded. All clear outside.

“We have very limited resources at our disposal right not. So...”

“Don't bother”, the professor said. “I was dying anyway. Both my girlfriend and I suffer from a fatal disease. It is only a matter of time before we go.”

“The First Order don't know about my device. When I left them, I stole some data but they never found about that. When they come for me, they won't even suspect to ask...if they care about asking anyway.”

Poe and Finn shook hands with the professor, took the box with the device and left. 

 

It was night in Canto Bight. Using the money Finn had earned, they rented a truck with fuel for their X-wing. 

“We are back BB-8. Finn has missed you.” A small bleep came from the droid.

“Oh, come on. It was really bad there. You wouldn't like it”, Poe said. All droids were ugly, especially the female ones. BB-8 bleeped again.

“Come on BB, we have brought you something you are gonna like”, Finn said. He showed him the box. BB-8 left a satisfied bleep.

“That's the spirit!”, Poe said. 

It took some time for the X-wing to be refueled. When it was over they drove the truck back and returned on foot.

As soon as they reached hyperspace, they transmitted a signal for the Resistance. It was picked up by Sergeant Rose Tiko.

 

"The information Captain Dameron gave is working", Sergeant Rose Tiko said. "We can use now create a temporary anti locator shield".

"Excellent", General Organa said. She had partly recovered from her injuries and she was back in control of the ship. Vice Admiral Holdo was on the makeshift command center with her. Leia turned to look at her.

"OK sergeant. We are closer to our destination now. Apply cloaking technology to Raddus. In the meantime, we will send another decoy." Tiko saluted and left.

As soon as Tiko left, Amilyn Holdo approached the General. From one of her pockets, she produced a letter.

"Leia, there is a favor I would like to ask."

 

“We have located him!”, a young agent said in the intercom. 

“Excellent!”, Captain Phasma replied.

“Welcome, welcome to Canto's Finest, the finest casino in Canto Bight, and allow me to say...” The stupid prerecorded voice of the announcer annoyed Phasma.

To better blend in, Captain Phasma wore a dark blue dress that flattered her tall, attractive, and athletic body. The dress left part of her back uncovered. She also wore high heel shoes. She had already noticed the admiring glances of men. 

“Focus on the mark, not my perfectly formed body”, she whispered in the intercom. “I know you have noticed.” The Senior Agent could not suppress a grin. His men were already gossiping about last night. And as every self-respecting man he did nothing to discourage such gossip.

“You too Senior Agent”, she told him. 

 

They found their man a few tables away. He was playing cards and he was accompanied by the same highly attractive lady. 

For the next hours, they pretended to be customers till their targets left. Phasma was a killer in the cards table. She easily won but she played small amounts of money to keep her profile low. She also received a lot of attention and compliments from men. She pretended the Special Agent was her husband to deter them.

It was late when the professor and his mistress left the casino and went to a nearby hotel, different from the one they had met Poe and Finn.

As it was customary for them, one of them always stayed awake as sentry while the other one went to sleep. 

 

“What did the droids and the agents find?”, Captain Phasma asked.

“Just the two of them. She is awake and has a blaster in her hand. Sentry duty.” 

“It sounds easy. But you don't survive when you underestimate them.”

“Make it look like an armed robbery”, he told them. 

Captain Phasma and the senior agent waited on a nearby rooftop. Phasma was aiming a sniper rifle to one of the windows. A few minutes passed. They heard loud noises like the ones blasters did. The girl was trying to stop them. Phasma took careful aim and fired once. The girl went down.

One minute later, three people were running away from the hotel. One of them was holding his wounded hand.

“The moron got himself shot”, the Special Agent said. “Report status now!”

“They are both dead. All clear!”

“Why did you get shot then Mister?”

“I admit we did not coordinate ourselves well. W didn't come at the same time from...”

“Get to the safehouse with the other two morons and get medical attention. Lie low till I come there. In a few hours...” He felt a strong hand grabbing him in the shoulder. It was Captain Phasma. She had removed her intercom device.

“Twenty four hours”, she whispered him.

“See you in twenty-four hours. I have some loose ends to take care of. And you start writing your report now! Now run! Out.” He turned the connection off and removed the device from his ear.

“Thanks for shooting the girl. She would probably have killed one or two of my people.”

“I had my fair share of morons in my units”, Captain Phasma said. “Come on, I will get you some dinner. And then...”. She gently kissed his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hyperspace tracker jamming device is not exactly scientific but in my opinion is playsible enough for a Star Wars film.


	19. The end of Raddus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The First Order manages to surprise the Resistance. Holdo is forced to stay behind to ram Raddus to the enemy flagship.

The return journey was uneventful for Poe, Finn, and BB-8. A few hours after their departure from Canto Bight, they were back on board Raddus with the device. General Leia Organa was waiting for them.

“Congratulations gentlemen. The data you transmitted allowed us to escape from them once more. We have almost reached our destination.”

“What do we do now General?”, Finn asked.

“We lie low”. She looked at Captain Dameron. 

“Captain, I know you have an aggressive spirit. But let's face the facts. You cannot win a war if you are dead. Sometimes you need to retreat, lie low, think your next move, and regroup. Then you strike again.”

“Thinking without acting is cowardice. That had always been my motto”, Poe Dameron replied.

“Acting without thinking is stupidity.”, General Organa replied. “You were always a doer but not much of a thinker I am afraid.”, she said with a friendly smile. “Anyway Captain, welcome back on board.”

 

“We are almost out of fuel General”, Vice Admiral Holdo said. “We can afford one hyperspace jump only.”

“We will make the jump and then we will leave Raddus. We can't salvage it. We shall use it as a decoy“, General Organa replied.

“We have salvaged the droids from the destroyed X-wing fighters. We have modified them to pilot Raddus. They will hunt the uncloaked cruiser while we escape in the pods.”

 

General Hux had reasons to be satisfied. The hyperspace locator was working better. Its users were also becoming more experienced in its use. They had found Raddus and were getting closer. He estimated they had one hyperspace jump left. And then...

About two hours later Raddus performed another hyperjump. The locator immediately found the Resistance ship. General Hux ordered a hyperjump for Supremacy.

 

"Here we go! See you on Crait!" Poe Dameron and Finn entered the X-wing and flew to the abandoned Rebel Alliance base.

Under Holdo's supervision, the Resistance had already sent a hundred people in six groups in six different planets. Two hundred more would go to the hidden former Rebel Alliance base of Crait. The last one hundred would go to satellite bases in planets surrounding Crait. 

General Organa and Vice Admiral Holdo were going to be among the last to go as tradition and their personal code of honor dictated. Then suddenly...

 

"Hyperspace jump successful sir", a young officer informed General Hux.

"Good. We have found them. Open fire with the turbolasers. Launch the TIE squadrons and boarding ships. Now!" A hangar bay door started opening. It contained ten squadrons of fighters and two squadrons of boarding ships.

 

Raddus was abandoned, with the exception of some droids that had been hastily modified to control the ship movement and direction and the remaining weapons systems. 

An alarm sounded. "We are under attack! They found us! Launch all transports now!" General Organa ordered. 

"We are not going to make it. They are going to send TIE fighters as well. They will destroy our escape pods", Holdo replied.

"There is only one way", General Organa said. 

"I know. We shall ram them using Raddus. I will do it", Amilyn Holdo said with determination.

"No, I cannot allow that. I am going to do it. I am older, and I outrank you. Step aside Amilyn, that is an order!"

"No!"

"Poe is down there. He loves you. You shall break his heart!" 

"Captain Dameron needs you more than he needs me. I don't have your own flair for galactic politics or for inspiring troops like you do. It is you who started the Resistance, not I. And Poe is the successor you need, the successor you always wanted. It is you that should groom him for the good of the galaxy not I." 

"Amilyn, I..."

"Poe is a brave man. He has more potential than anyone. And I hate myself for breaking his heart. Ask him to forgive me. I loved him more than my life. And give him my letter!" 

"Amilyn?" There were tears in the General's eyes.

Vice Admiral Holdo closed the door behind her and run to the command center. 

 

"Two minutes for launch, sir", a young officer said. 

"Proceed as planned.", General Hux replied. The TIE fighter pilots closed the canopies of their craft and the hangar bay doors opened. They could only see the beams of the Supremacy turbolasers attacking a distant target.

 

With unbelievable speed, Holdo run the to the ship bridge. There were no human beings around. Only droids remained there. 

There was no time to lose. Using the last fuel reserves of Raddus, the Admiral turned it to face Supremacy. It was then that a thought crossed her mind. It was a simple yet intelligent one. 

She would never find out it was Kylo Ren who had planted it. 

 

The TIE fighters were getting ready for launch but the group commander hadn't given the order to launch yet. Something bothered him.

"Sir, the fighters haven't started their engines yet. Should I communicate with their commander?"

"Maybe some minor technical problem", General Hux replied. "Wait one more minute and then call the commander."

"Sir, the enemy vessel appears to be turning. It is turning to face us!"

"Keep firing and talk to the commander now!" 

 

Amilyn Holdo did not understand how the idea to move Raddus to that particular area came to her. It could be instinct or something else. In any case, Raddus was accelerating. She had focused all the shield energy to the frontal part of the ship but there were still vibrations by the laser cannons hitting it.

She could see it now. A faint white light, like an open hangar bay door. She had found a weak spot. A voice inside her head told her the fighters that were about to destroy the Resistance transports were there. 

"You would be proud of me Poe", she told herself. 

"I love you Poe Dameron. Please forgive me!"

She closed her eyes and saw him smiling at her. It was the last image she saw in her life. A few seconds later Raddus penetrated the Supremacy energy shields and crashed into the hangar. 

 

"The cruiser is moving to the hangar! It will crush inside it!" The young officer was worried.

"What are the fighters waiting for? Launch them now and close the door!", Hux screamed. 

"In any second now they...". The young officer never finished his words. A powerful explosion rocked Supremacy like a strong earthquake. General Hux fell to the floor. 

 

Supremacy had powerful energy shields. They were strong enough to stop attacks by almost all types of laser weapons and all types of missile attacks. They were also strong enough to stop fast moving ships up to a certain size with crews desperate and determined enough to ram it. A heavy cruiser like Raddus could penetrate Supremacy's energy shields though. For that reason Supremacy had a thick conventional armor belt surrounding it. The only weak spots of that belt were the TIE fighter hangar bays.

When Raddus rammed the hangar bay area, it caused devastating damage. The hangar was almost completely destroyed. The TIE fighters and the boarding ships in it were smashed to pieces. The damage didn't end there though. The heavy Resistance cruiser kept moving and destroying even more of the ship's interior. Since the interior of the ship had much less shielding than its exterior, the cruiser managed to penetrate three more layers of the ship before completely disintegrating. 

Inside his throne room, Supreme Leader Snoke felt the impact of the ramming attack of Raddus. He could sense the cruiser approaching him.

It only took a fraction of a second for Snoke to realize the truth. 

"Traitors!", he screamed. "Traitors..."

 

"General Hux? Can you hear me?" It was the voice of Kylo Ren.

"Yes, Kylo Ren? What is it?"

"The Supreme Leader wants us both in his throne room. Immediately!" 

"On my way", General Hux said.

 

A few minutes later both men were face to face. They were a few hundreds of meters away from the throne room. The temperature was high. The area close to the throne room had been in the path of destruction of Raddus. 

"We must find out about the Supreme Leader", Kylo Ren screamed. It was very noisy there. Hux nodded in agreement. 

It took one hour for the raging fires to be put out. Rescue crews continuously moved the dead and wounded for treatment. Other groups were trying to open a path to the throne room. But there was not much hope for Snoke. Raddus had passed directly through the throne room. Exactly as Ren and Hux had planned. 

Hux and Ren entered the throne room and examined the distraction in front of them. The throne itself had been cut in two. Its upper part had been smashed in pieces. Out of the eight special bodyguards Snoke had, noone had survived. Then Kylo pointed out the golden robe Snoke had. Both men got closer. Out of instinct Hux touched his service blaster and Ren his lightsaber. 

Snoke's body was there. Or at least what remained of it. Only the head, the upper part of the chest and half his left arm could be seen. Supreme Leader Snoke was dead. 

Both men exited the room. General Hux approached a nearby captain. "Supreme Leader orders nobody is allowed inside except me or Kylo Ren. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Is the Supreme Leader OK?"

"Yes, he is. But you won't be if you don't obey his orders.", Hux said.

The two men kept walking. When they were alone Hux turned to Ren and said: "I don't believe it worked."

"Never underestimate the Force", was Kylo's reply. "We need to gather the council. The sooner, the better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hyperspace jumping seemed like a silly idea to me. It would retroactively solve all plot points in the previous films? Death Star? Ram an asteroid. Capital ships? Ram a smaller asteroid. 
> 
> There is still ramming here but on a smaller scale. It is still effective.
> 
> Killing Snoke using a heavy cruiser? What do you think?


	20. A new day for the First Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren becomes the new Supreme Leader with Hux's support. As a reward, Hux becomes commander of the First Order armed forces.
> 
> The Resistance tries to regroup in Crait.

Observing from her transport, General Leia Organa was speechless. Vice Admiral Holdo had done it! It was an amazing achievement. Within seconds, she had found a weak spot in the ship exterior and she had send Raddus exactly there. Only Poe Dameron would have shown such a level of skill.   
Another interesting fact was that no TIE fighters had scrambled to attack them. That was strange since Supremacy certainly had hundreds of them on board. The only logical explanation was that Holdo had managed to find the one hangar where fighters were ready to launch and rammed them. 

One after the other, the small transports and the escape pods landed on Crait. They entered the base from a hidden entrance. There was no time to waste. As soon as one of the Resistance crafts landed, its passengers and crew disembarked and unloaded it. Then they helped push it further inside the huge cave the Crait base was. 

The base was old and abandoned. It also lacked an effective defensive system. No defensive lasers, no energy shields, nothing. An orbital bombardment would blow them up in the sky. 

On the plus side, they had saved the majority of the Raddus survivors. Some of the surviving craft could also perform hyperspace jumps. They would have to lie low for a few days and then they would disperse and try to rebuild the Resistance.

 

In a conference room, deep inside Supremacy and many kilometers away from Snoke's throne room, two groups of people were present. On the one side there was Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren. On the other side there were First Order Generals and Admirals, including General Hux. All of them – except Kylo and Hux – had been summoned from far away places of the galaxy, where they commanded First Order troops to battle. They were safe from potential spies because the room was soundproof and electronic device proof.

One of the Generals in the room raised his hand and said: “With all due respect General Hux, why are we here so far away from the throne room? Whenever the Supreme Leader wants to talk to us, he summons us in his throne room.”

General Hux cleared his throat and said: “General, there is a very good reason Supreme Leader Snoke is not among us here and why we are not in his throne room.”

“Which is?”, an Admiral asked.

“I believe you all have seen the damages to the external of Supremacy”, Kylo Ren said. All officers and all the Knights of Ren nodded in agreement.

“Such a destruction is the work of the Resistance. They were extremely lucky to have found a weak spot in the ship armor. A Resistance heavy cruiser managed to penetrate the external armor and the energy shields and after destroying a hangar full of TIE fighters reached the throne room.”

“What happened to our Leader?”, one of the Knights of Ren asked.

“The throne room was destroyed. The Supreme Leader bodyguards were killed”, Hux said. “And the supreme leader is...”, Kylo said while lowering his head, “...dead.”

Sounds of disbelief were heard.

“Gentlemen”, Kylo said, “there is a very good reason we summoned you pretending it is a meeting with the Supreme Leader, a reason you all understand.”

“It is a matter of morale”, Hux continued where Kylo Ren had stopped. “What if our troops find out we have lost our leader? Not exactly good for morale don't you think?”

“And don't forget the Resistance. They killed our Supreme Leader. It was of course extremely good luck on their part. Nevertheless, if we announce it we will give them such a huge morale boost even ten Super Star Destroyers can't give.”

“What is the next move then General Hux?”, a General asked.

“What are we going to do now Kylo Ren?”, one of the Knights of Ren asked. 

“For starters, Supreme Leader Snoke was head of the Knights of Ren”, Kylo Ren said. “As for now, I assume command of the Knights of Ren”, he said. Nobody of the Knights objected it. The military officers didn't object because they didn't care.

“Supreme Leader Snoke was supreme leader of the First Order and commander-in-chief of our armed forces. As the Leader of the Knights of Ren, I suggest General Archibald Hux to be the new Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces.” All of the Knights of Ren expressed their approval. 

“I understand that waging war in multiple fronts is a complex and delicate operation. For that reason my first decision as Commander-in-Chief, will be to grant greater autonomy to theater commanders.” That carefully worded statement essentially meant that if they supported Hux, Hux would let them have more autonomy and power. In a few seconds all had agreed.

“I understand that a powerful Force user like Supreme Leader Snoke would have preferred his place to have gone to a powerful Force user...like the Leader of the Knights of Ren.”

“I am humbled by the suggestion of the Commander-in-Chief of our forces. Thereby, I accept without hesitation the position of Supreme Leader of the First Order.”, Kylo Ren said.

“As a measure of my appreciation to the suggestion of the Commander-in-Chief, I offer him the right to be exempt from bowing in front of the Supreme Leader whenever present.” 

“I deeply appreciate the respectful decision of the Supreme Leader”, General Hux said.

“As Supreme Leader”, Kylo Ren said, “I order full secrecy on the events here. Our new positions here remain secret. Whatever concerns the army is addressed to Supreme Leader Snoke and General Hux. The rest are addressed to Supreme Leader Snoke and me.”

“You will obey me and the Supreme Leader”, Hux said. “And you will never say a word about the death of Supreme Leader Snoke. Whoever leaks that dies.”

“The same applies to the Knights of Ren”, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren said.

“Return to your posts and continue with your assignments. The death of our Supreme Leader will be announced when the appropriate time comes. The time will come after the Galaxy is in our hands.“

When Kylo Ren stood up, he looked around the room and said: “The Supreme Leader is dead.”

“Long lives the Supreme Leader!”, the Knights and the officers replied in unison.

 

While the repair crews on board Supremacy were repairing the damages of the ship and the rest of the meeting members were returning to their posts, two men were discussing.

“It was smooth”, Hux said. 

“It went as planned”, Kylo replied.

“How did he not read your mind plotting against you then?”

“I tricked him, I guess. I controlled my thoughts.”

“You did a fine job, Supreme Leader.”

“Thank you commander...in chief. Now, I think we have some Resistance members to find.”

“There are some former Rebel Alliance bases around. We can search them...or we can simply bombard them. Of course if we bombard them, their leader General Organa will...”

“Let's locate them first. Then we drop the bombs”, Supreme Leader Ren replied. 

 

“The equipment in the base is ancient”, Finn mentioned. “It is also rusty. And half of it is not functioning.”

“Salvage what you can people”, General Organa said. “Use the escape pods as bunks till we clean the bunks here. And most of it, find usable fuel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of Ren - Hux conspiracy.


	21. Searching for the Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance tries to remain hidden. Rey manages to reach Crait while Poe and Leia mourn Amilyn.
> 
> The First Order uses its massive resources to find the Resistance and manage to capture some of its members.

The destruction of Raddus meant the Resistance was short legged. Those who did not perish when the heavy cruiser rammed Supremacy had to escape in relatively small sized escape pods. These pods had the ability to sustain their crews and passengers for up to two weeks. However, most of them did not have the ability for hyperspace jumps and for that reason they had to hide themselves in one or more nearby planets.

Despite the heavy damages, Supremacy was not really out of commission. Less than one percent of its crew had been killed or wounded. Repair crews had already started repairing damages. There were spare parts in reserve for emergencies. In addition, the on board Supremacy repair shops, normally used to repair fighters, ground vehicles and spaceships up to Star Destroyer size were also used to create additional spare parts for Supremacy itself. Hux was confident that in less then four days, the gigantic ship would be as good as new. 

Supremacy had lost part of its fighter complement in the first attack against Raddus and in the ramming attack that had just occurred. But they represented less than ten percent of the total TIE fighter complement on board. A small number of ground vehicles had also been destroyed. They were relatively light casualties that could easily be replaced in a few days. The First Order had survived the attack with very light damages.

The only heavy damage the First Order had suffered was the death of its Supreme Leader. But Hux really didn't care about a death he had personally orchestrated. 

Twenty squadrons of TIE fighters, accompanied by refueling corvettes were scanning the nearby planets. Most of them were uninhabited. What Supreme Commander Hux was looking for was remains of escape pods that had recently crashed on a planet's surface. Five groups of stormtroopers equipped with heavy weapons were on standby to directly attack any Resistance group the TIE fighters had located.

"General", a squadron commander on patrol said, "we have located an escape pod. Request permission to bombard them."

Hux could not agree with an attack. Raddus was big enough to carry hundreds of Resistance members. There had to be many more survivors than the few ones a single escape pod could carry.

"Negative", Hux replied. "Inform a stormtrooper group and give them the appropriate instructions. I will be listening you myself." Hux was testing the young officer Did he understand the logic behind his orders? Was he promotion material?

"All right Group One. You have the coordinates. There are more Resistance survivors out there. We need prisoners for interrogation." Good, Hux thought. 

"You are advised to disperse in four subgroups, company strength each. Use them to surround the pod. Offer them one chance to surrender and don't fire unless fired upon. Use concussion grenade and tear gas for non-lethal effect."

The Group One commander didn't like the fact a pilot was giving him orders. Especially since it appeared he outranked the pilot. He was clearly annoyed. "Wait a minute here. Who told you to give orders?" The pilot was about to respond when a voice was heard on the radio.

"I told the Captain. Now get your Group moving! You have your instructions."

"Yes, General", the Group commander replied to Hux.

 

The Group One commander didn't like he had to directly attack an entrenched group of Resistance members, especially since he had to hold fire and not attack first. Such an approach would cause his men greater casualties. And not using lethal force meant his men would not get a chance to avenge the ones who had tried to kill them. But orders were orders.

The four subgroups landed in their designated areas, each a hundred men strong. In a few minutes they had surrounded the escape pod and the Resistance members. 

"And remember", the commander said. "Give them one chance to surrender and no, I repeat no lethal force!" 

A droid slowly approached the Resistance position. It carried a message for the Resistance and it would announce it in oral form using its on board sound synthesizers. When it got at a ten meter distance from the pod, it announced: "The Frst Order, under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke, and in accordance..."

 

Ten minutes later the battle was over. The negotiations had failed. The Group commander asked for a status report. 

"Total casualties six killed, ten wounded, sir."

"Did you get any prisoners?"

"Ten prisoners, sir. They are tied and unconscious. We provided them with medical attention. In a few hours they will be ready for interrogation."

"Resistance members killed?"

"Twenty sir. We acted in self defense and...". The Group commander understood what his officer meant.

"I also suppose some of the Resistance committed suicide to avoid capture. "

"Yes sir, you are right."

"And they used grenades to commit suicide, right?"

"Exactly sir."

Because I know an execution of prisoners of war when I see one, the commander told himself. And you used grenades because it is easier to identify an execution with a blaster than with grenades. Now, I can prove nothing against you. 

On the other hand, the group commander didn't really care about executions of enemy prisoners. Since they had captured some alive, he had no interest to press the matter.

"Understood", he finally said. "Companies one and two remain here. Three and four back to the Destroyer."

 

The Millenium Falcon successfully made a hyperspace jump and was now above the Crait system. But Rey was worried. It was more of an instinct than a concrete belief. Yet she remained on alert. She let Chewie pilot the legendary spaceship, while she took position in one of the ship's gun turrets. Then Chewie growled.

"Many and heavy spaceships on the radar?", Rey said. "Oh no, they must have followed them in hyperspace." Chewie growled again.

"What Chewie? A hyperspace locator? Right, they sent a message from Raddus. Now what?"

 

"We found two enemy escape pods, along with their passengers and crews.", Hux said. "Sixty Resistance members killed or captured."

"Good. I will have the Knights of Ren back. They will interrogate the prisoners." Hux was annoyed. Kylo Ren sensed that.

"Of course, the army will interrogate them first. The Knights of Ren will only talk to the ones who don't cooperate." Supreme Commander Hux was satisfied. It was a good compromise, the first of many to come.

"Carry on with your duties Supreme Commander." 

"With pleasure, Supreme Leader."

 

"A third of our people are not here. They are scattered in many different planets.", Captain Dameron said.

"They will scatter even more. They have orders to abandon their pods and scatter as far away as possible. In addition, they don't know about Crait. The ones taken prisoners will give contradictory accounts. This will buy us some time.", General Organa said.

"Time for what? What is the next phase General?"

"Time to build a new hope for the galaxy", Leia Organa replied.

 

"We can do that", Sergeant Rose Tiko said. "We can modify the energy shields to become stealthy, and we can make hyperspace jumps using the pods. The only problem is we need a lot of energy to make the pods fly in the space. We need fuel for that, lots of fuel. We also need a way to hide the heat the pods engines will generate before the hyperjump. It is a lot of hot exhaust fuel, that also makes the pods visible in the night. 

"What about the fuel stored in the base?", Finn asked.

"According to General Organa, it will work", Poe Dameron said. "The Crait base had been designed as a last resort. The fuel is of a special type that can last for decades in storage. It is also very powerful and it leaves dark exhaust fumes that are harder to locate."

"How de we access the fuel?", Finn asked.

"According to the base blueprints, they are located in a sealed underground bunker. They only way to reach them is digging. We don't have functional digging tools, so we shall use manual labor. I would say two days.", Tiko said. 

"Let's get starting then", Finn said. 

 

It was night on Crait when the Millenium Falcon approached it. The First Order TIE fighter patrols were still searching in areas away from it. For the time being the Resistance was safe.

As soon as the Millenium Falcon landed, Rey and Chewie opened its hatch and disembarked. General Organa was waiting for them. She hugged Chewie and then with a big smile in her face she hugged Rey.

"Welcome back young lady", she said. "And welcome back handsome warrior!". Chewie growled as a reply.

"OK fine. Strong and handsome warrior!", Leia said. She then turned her attention to Rey.

"Where is Luke? Is he on board?" Chewie and Rey looked each other. Then they both lowered their eyes.

General Organa cast them both a worried look. "All right, get some rest and come and find me in the control area." 

 

The young Resistance woman was suffering. The First Order had shown no restraint in its torture. But she had been courageous and never had uttered a word. 

A masked man entered her cell. He was dressed in black, and was wearing black boots and a black cape. A lightsaber was hanging from his belt. 

“Leave us alone”, he ordered the two troopers inside the cell. Both of them complied.

“Do you know who I am?”, the masked man asked.

“Yes, I know. You are a Knight of Ren. But I won't say anything.”

“I admire your courage young lady. But not your intelligence. As a tribute to the former, I will give you one and only one opportunity to tell me what you know about the Resistance hideout.”

“No way”, the young woman replied.

“You are certainly intelligent”, the Knight of Ren said. “You know there is no other opportunity. And you know I can make you suffer more than the people who came before me. So final question. Yes or no?”

“No!”

“I expected that. You never learn. OK, let's get started”, he said.

The masked man raised his right arm. Intense pain crossed her mind. 

 

In another cell, another Resistance member had a visitor. It was another Knight of Ren.

“I admire your courage. As a tribute to it, I will give you one opportunity to tell me what you know about the Resistance hideout.”

“Very well. You have won and I have lost. Ask me whatever you want.” The tone of this woman was resigned.

The Knight of Ren was disappointed. He enjoyed a good challenge and this woman had surrendered too easily. Nevertheless, the deal was a deal.

“You are wise. Let's start with General Leia Organa. I would like to...”

 

The Knights of Ren were experienced Force users. Force mind reading and other tricks were second nature for them. Soon they had gathered a lot of information about some hidden bases the Resistance had. All of them were very small and each of them barely could host more than thirty people. Nevertheless, it was something. 

As Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and Supreme Commander Hux had agreed, the Knights of Ren forwarded all available information to the army. Scores of TIE fighters and stormtrooper attack groups attacked the small bases. In essence, they were not bases but merely outposts.

The Resistance justified their names in every occasion. Every outpost fell only after a lot of fight and a lot of casualties. The First Order did not use excessive force because they wanted prisoners. On the other hand, the Resistance had no such limitations. They fired with blasters, grenades, and in some extreme occasions they even used daggers. 

It was all over in less than two days. All the outposts fell. Only the base in Crait remained. About two hundred people were in it. 

 

“Supreme Commander Hux, I am ready for my report.”, a General said. He was one of the few high ranking officers who knew about Snoke's death. Hux gestured him to proceed.

“With the information provided by our aerial intelligence and interrogation of prisoners we have managed to locate and destroy four outposts in four different areas. We have killed seventy Resistance members. We also have captured thirty prisoners. Twenty of them are heavily wounded and for the time being unable to provide any useful info. We have started interrogating the other ten.”

“Very well. Any results so far?”

“No, Supreme Commander.” The General looked around nervously. Lowering his voice, he said. “There is one more thing.”

“The Knights of Ren?”, Hux asked.

“Yes, sir. Do we keep offering them full access to the prisoners?”

“What is the point you want to make General?”

“I am in the army, not in the Knights of Ren, if you know what I mean sir.”

“I understand General. Well, turf wars happen in every organization. We, the Knights of Ren, some bureaucratic agency somewhere etc. I would be surprised if the Resistance itself was without its turf wars.

“The First Order is growing every day. We capture more and more planets and planetary systems. Soon, the most important parts of the galaxy will be ours. Then the army will have vast resources at its disposal. Capital for financing, factories to build weapons, populations to recruit soldiers, planets to use as bases.

“The Knights of Ren will also benefit. That is OK for me as long as they don't harm us. We will soon have multiple times the resources we had, so there will be enough for them as well.

“Let's not antagonize them. The Knights of Ren can be a dangerous opponent. Let's make peace with them, give them part of the galaxy and let's keep the rest. There is enough for everyone.”

“Very well, Supreme Commander”, the General replied.

 

“We have lost all of our outposts”, Dameron said. “How did they find them so fast?”

“There is only one explanation.”

“What is that General?”

“They have been very effective in interrogating people. Only one way can guarantee such a high level of effectiveness. The Knights of Ren are here.”

“We are in trouble then. Do they know about Crait?”

“No. I purposely left Crait obscured for them. There was my fear that a security breach could occur, and it did.”

“That's right Colonel”, General Organa replied.

“I am a captain. Did you just...”

“Promote you? Yes, Colonel Dameron. It is only a matter of time before you become a General. What do you think Poe? That I can't see beyond the surface. I know what kind of person you are. And even if I can't, I am wise enough to listen to wise people who do.”

“Who was that wise person?”

“You know who Poe. I have seen your tears last night. You loved her didn't you?”

“Yes. Amilyn... I mean Vice Admiral Holdo. She told me you knew about us.”

“Admiral Holdo had a request for you Poe.”, General Organa said.

“What was that?”

“She wanted you to forgive her...for breaking your heart. She knew that losing her life would devastate you.”

“Amilyn Holdo sacrificed her life to save us. There is nothing that needs to be forgiven.”

“I have lost so many good people around me”, Leia Organa said. “My son fell to the darkness of the First Order. Han Solo, the love of my life lost his life by the hand of his own son. Now, my best friend is gone.”

“You have lost much more than I have.”, Poe admitted.

“There is a great person, I haven't lost. An arrogant, self-righteous, reckless, and seemingly egotistical man. But he is also brave, loyal to his people, and very skilled and charismatic. And most of it, he is a leader.

“He is the type of person who would look around him and would only see thirty people armed with rocks and clubs surrounded by a thousand heavily armed stormtroopers. And he would pick up a club and yell for these thirty people to follow him against the one thousand. And they would. And they would lose their lives for him...and they would die with a smile in their face proud that they never let him down.

“That leader, that man of courage and strength, that person who can inspire even the weakest against the strongest is you Poe Dameron. It is you who one day will lead the Resistance to the final victory against the First Order.

“But to do that you need more than raw courage. You need strategy. Acting without thinking is stupidity. You would lead these thirty brave people to attack the one thousand but in the end you would lose. Unless...you had strategy. Unless you isolated one of the enemies and clubbed him to death and then took his weapons. And then another. And then another. Not the fast and flashy strategy. But often victory is not one big and flashy attack. It is a series of small and gradual steps.

“I had lost my faith in you Poe. I believed you were not the best we had. You were smart but not wise, brave but not careful. But I admit I was wrong. You have what it takes. But you will have to cultivate it.”

“Did Amilyn convince you for all of that?”

“It was the same words I use now on you she used on me. And she asked me one final favor. She said that if you forgive her, you should realize the potential you have inside you. You deserve so much, that is what she always said about you.”

“How can I say no to such a wish when it comes from such a person?”, Colonel Dameron said. 

“You are my second in command now. But sooner than you realize, you will be number one.”

 

“We are close, very close”, Finn said. “A few hours more and we will reach the fuel tanks.” 

“Good”, Sergeant Tiko said. “The tanks are sealed, therefore the fuel is intact. The best and most expensive jet fuel we have.”

“All right. Let's fuel the transports and then let's get out of here.”

“We have also repaired some old spaceships. They will help us disperse our forces further in the galaxy.”

“For now, we can only hide and wait”, Finn said. 

“Sorry Finn. But don't be disappointed. We will rebuild and counterattack. But for the moment we need to survive.”

 

Since Snoke's throne room was still in ruins, Hux and Kylo had a conference in another area of Supremacy. This helped them maintain the illusion Snoke was still alive.

“General Organa was also Force sensitive, therefore if I and the rest of the Knights of Ren focus our effort, we might find her. We might also find Rey.”

“Rey and your m...”. Kylo cut Hux short.

“Yes, General Organa was my mother. But she no longer is. I have killed my past.” Hux nodded.

“Rey and … General Organa are in a certain area of the Galaxy. According to our strategic analysis, the outposts we raided and captured form a peripheral ring. Such a ring in such a remote area of the galaxy can only be supported by a central base. We don't have any data for bases in the area. The Galactic Empire never built anything there and neither the Old Republic did before them. It was either something built by the New Republic or it is a former Rebel Alliance creation.”

“The base must be somewhere in the middle of the outpost ring. It is still a wide area but at least we have managed to narrow it down considerably.”

Kylo Ren smiled. “The power of science combined with the power of the Force.”

“Exactly. I will send the map coordinates on the projector here and you can search them.”


	22. The Last Jedi is back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe is a Colonel now and Leia's second in command. 
> 
> The First Order has cornered the Resistance and is getting ready for the finishing blow... when Luke Skywalker appears.

“We have fuel buddy!”, Finn said. “We can refuel the ships.”  
“Good! Time to get out of here”, Colonel Dameron said.

“Pods are refueled as we speak”, Finn said. “We will be ready In a few hours. Where is our next destination?”

“It is not one. It is many. And I can't tell you buddy.”

“Hey, don't you trust me?”

“I trust you with my life Finn. But there is a reason secrets remain secrets. If you get captured, then what?”

“Hey, I' d rather die than talk and you know it”, Finn said. He was annoyed.

“I know you would buddy. But have you ever faced a Force sensitive interrogator? They can force your mind to reveal anything. And they can make it very painful for you. In the end, they crack your mind open like a smashed safe. They take your secrets and your mind remains broken.”

“But I would never break. You would never break Poe.”

“Sorry buddy but I almost did once. It was when they captured me in Jakku. Kylo Ren himself was about to break my when...you appeared and saved me!” Poe hugged Finn.

All annoyance left Finn. “OK Poe. You know better, I suppose. Just one question only.”

“What is it buddy?”

“Will our new base have any nearby casinos? I got really lucky last time.” Both men burst into laughing.

 

“We have a weak disturbance of the Force on Crait system”, one of the Knights of Ren said. 

“Let's keep probing them. I will inform Supreme Commander Hux.”

A few minutes later, ten squadrons of TIE fighters were ordered to orbit the planet. Fuel replenishment ships followed them, along with transportation vehicles.

Worried that the Knights of Ren were getting too much influence, the Generals chose to return to Supremacy. Their rationale was supposedly to coordinate the First Order military efforts. But it was also a form of turf war. 

Kylo Ren was not pleased with that development but he didn't show it. He could only rule if the army supported him or at least didn't oppose him. He would give the army a lot of power and resources in exchange for their support and tolerance. In the end he would still have more power than he could ever imagine a few days ago.

 

“There is a faint signal on the radar. They are approaching us”, a radar operator said.

“Do they search a specific area?”, Leia asked.

“No, they appear to be making a general search”, the operator replied.

“We must escape. Time for Plan B.”

Plan B was to use a number of old transports as decoys. They would load them with conventional fuel and they would let them escape. There would be no human in them, just pilot droids. The First Order would focus its attacks there...while the other part of the fleet would escape using the more advanced fuel.

 

“Oh no!”, the radar operator said. He sounded worried.

“What is it?”, Dameron asked.

“The enemy craft are forming a circle around the planet. It is still very wide...but that might change. I as well...oh no, oh no, oh no!”

“What?”

“Do you see that signal that has just appeared in the top left part of the radar? This is the signal Supremacy made.”

“Are you sure?”, Colonel Dameron asked.

“Yes, sir. The first time I saw it, I was a radar operator on board Ninka when the First order fighters attacked.”

“All right. Keep us informed about any significant development.”

 

“Supremacy is closer now”, Hux said.

“Good, we can have a better feel about the Force disturbance. It is not like a radar signal...but close.”

“It is time for the final showdown. I will have AT walkers ready. I will also have a Hammer prepared.”

“A Hammer?” Ren was puzzled.

“You will really like it”, Hux said with a smile. 

 

“What if the Knights of Ren are on board Supremacy?”, Rey asked.

“Then we are in deep trouble. They are expert fighters. My brother had met them in the past”, General Organa said.

“Yes...he told me about it. They were his students.”

“I wish Luke was with us now. But I have a feeling he will be back.”

“But how? His X-wing was in the water when I visited him and he refused to come with us.”

“He gave you the ancient Jedi texts though. He trusts you to continue on his footsteps”, Leia Organa said.

 

“OK, we are closer now. It was neither Rey nor General Organa who led us to them. It was their thoughts. The same ones like the ones the prisoners had. The Knights of Ren are really remarkable”, Kylo Ren said.

“I have to swallow my pride and concede the point”, Hux replied.

“Now, imagine a galaxy where we can locate all the Force sensitive people. Imagine the Knights of Ren visiting each and every one of them at a young age and offering him or her the opportunity to join them. Imagine a new Jedi Order but in reverse. Imagine the advanced First Order advanced infantry training program that produced loyal soldiers out of children applied to Force sensitive kids by our Knights of Ren.

“The Galactic Empire lost because a single Force sensitive person, called Luke Skywalker was allowed to exploit its weaknesses. Imagine now if Luke Skywalker had never existed...and even if he did he would have scores of enemies of equal power to deal with.”

“You want a galaxy full of Knights of Ren. And I want a galaxy where advanced armies of highly trained and loyal troops roam in total freedom. If we combine our forces nothing will stop us.” , Supreme Commander Hux said. “You are a man of vision Supreme Leader. You have just earned my respect.”

 

“All ships fueled and ready to go.”

“Turn the droids on. We are leaving the area.” An explosion was heard outside the base.

“Too late.” 

 

The First Order TIE fighters carried bombs and missiles suitable for ground attacks. They were too light to breach the rock the base was dug in and the additional heavy fortification around it. But their purpose was not to destroy. The fighters were acting as decoy. They wanted the Resistance to be tempted to use their anti-aircraft guns and thus reveal their location.

“Man the anti-air guns and blast...”. Then Colonel Poe Dameron stopped. He realized his mistake. 

“Stay away from the guns. We do not want to draw their attention. I repeat. Stay away.” The Resistance members looked at him undecided.

“You heard the Colonel. Sit tight. Don't move for the guns.” It was General Organa's orders. All men and women complied.

“You are learning Poe, you are learning restraint. ” Leia said when they were in private.

 

“They didn't take the bait. All right, move the ground troops.”

“Yes, General.” Thousands of troops were ready for action. 

 

The Crait base entrance was protected by a very heavy door. It was made by a mixture of durasteel and titanium and it was so strong that even a direct attack by heavy artillery could not penetrate it. The Resistance members were relatively safe for the time being. But they knew the First Order had other tools at its disposal. 

Something powerful hit the base door. It was not strong enough to destroy it or even cause slight damage to it. But it was strong enough to make everyone jump on their feet. It was as if a giant had knocked.

"TIE fighter missile. They have found us.", Poe Dameron said. "I am afraid they are on top of us."

"Shall we evacuate?", Finn asked. 

"Too risky. They will be ready for us. We will lose most of our transports, even the stealthy ones before we even exit the planet atmosphere", General Leia replied.

"But if we don't move, they will finish us."

"We are not done fueling the transports yet", Sergeant Tiko said. "We need a few more hours."

"Until we finish fueling, they will have completely sealed their trap...and our fate."

 

"I need anti-aircraft artillery and anti-air rockets transported on Crait now!", Supreme Commander Hux replied. "I also need twenty squadrons of TIE fighters plus refueling ship patrolling the space above Crait and twenty squadrons in the atmosphere. And get a Hammer ready for transportation!" Supreme Commander Hux was excited. 

"What is the matter?", Kylo Ren asked.

"We have finally located their main base. We are going to attack it. I am sending fighters and anti-aircraft guns to make sure their transports will be blown up the moment they try to escape."

"At last. The final obstacle is about to be removed", Kylo Ren said.

"We can use the Supremacy guns to blow them from orbit. But I believe we need to capture survivors for interrogation", Hux said. "Besides, their surviving leadership will be holed there. I am sure they will have a lot to tell us."

"I agree. Proceed as planned then. I am going to go down with the Knights of Ren to have a closer look to their destruction." 

"We think the same thing. My generals and I will be down there as well. It is a historical moment." Kylo Ren didn't really like the company of the generals but he didn't care. His Knights would be in another ship after all.

 

There was a special periscope in the base for visual observation. Finn was using in to analyze the behavior of First Order troops surrounding the base.

"I see they are moving some infantry units and they are slowly surrounding us. At a distance I can see walkers. They are large, four-legged vehicles with heavy armor that..."

"I know about them. They almost killed me in Hoth", General Organa said. The battle of Hoth had been a defeat for the Rebel Alliance. They had lost many of their troops. Fortunately, most of them had survived due to their fast response and the incompetence of the Galactic Empire that had failed to create a more effective blockade. Unfortunately, the First Order was an improved version of the Galactic Empire and so far they had managed to avoid making most of the mistakes their predecessors had.

"Just like Hoth General?". Poe Dameron asked.

"No, they are smarter and we are weaker now", she replied.

The morale of the surviving Resistance members was rapidly deteriorating.

 

"This is General Armitage Hux of the First Order. You are surrounded. You cannot escape in land because our infantry and artillery will blow you up. You cannot escape in the air because we will shoot your transports down. You cannot remain locked for ever because we have the means to blow the door up."

"Your only chance to survive is by surrendering. You have one hour to decide. Out." As if to reinforce his message, a barrage of missiles hit the door a few seconds after Hux's transmission was over.

Only Colonel Dameron and General Organa had heard the transmission. They were looking at each other unable to even talk to each other.

It was Poe Dameron who broke the silence. "Is it over General?"

"Only a miracle can save us now Poe. Only a miracle."

 

The circle around the Resistance tightened. TIE fighters were flying at lower heights and First Order sharpshooters were occasionally firing against the Crait Base.

The Resistance members inside the base returned fire. They had determined that surrender meant failure and certain death. They preferred the clean and relatively painless death of the fighter. The base anti-aircraft guns were constantly firing against TIE fighters. Turbolasers also fired against sharpshooters and other infantry. Meanwhile, Resistance members who were not manning the anti-aircraft or anti-ground guns were creating a barricade for the moment the base door was breached. 

It was all pointless and everyone knew it. But everyone also knew that if they had to give their lives, at least they would take some enemies with them. It was more a symbolic gesture of course. 

There was no chance escaping in the air. The enemy TIE fighters had already covered the area above the base. Nobody would survive that.

"They are bringing heavy personnel transporters and artillery. They also...oh no...oh no." 

"What is going on Finn?"

"They have brought a Hammer."

"A Hammer?"

"Yes. It is a special type of turbolaser. It is actually a scaled down version of the turbolaser the Death Star had. It is a First Order weapon for breaching fortifications. It will tear our door down as if made of paper."

 

Two groups of VIP vehicles were close to the Hammer. One of them carried the Knights of Ren and the other carried Hux and a number of Generals. They had gathered to watch the spectacle.

"You may fire when ready", Hux ordered the Hammer crew.

 

"They have fired the laser!", Finn screamed. "Away from the door! Away from the door!" Everyone ran away. The black metallic door started getting red in its middle. The laser was melting it. 

A few seconds later the door burst open. It had completely melted. The powerful laser beam disintegrated everything on its path including an escape pod and a number of Resistance members.

"Casualties?", General Leia asked.

"Three killed, two wounded."

"There is a message for the base.", a young radio officer said.

"Put him on speakerphones", the General said.

 

"This is General Hux again. We recognize your bravery and we readily admit you have preserved your honor. But you cannot escape and you cannot fight. Surrender now or perish. General Hux out."

None could speak for a few seconds. Leia started talking "I am going to tell him..."

"...to gather his troops and leave the planet peacefully or he will regret it."

Everyone was shocked. Who had said that? 

"Who said that?", General Organa asked.

"I did", a man wearing a black cape said. The man moved a few steps and slowly removed the hood, only to reveal the face of ...

 

"Master Skywalker?", Rey said.

"Luke. How did you get in here?", Leia Organa said.

"I am a Jedi Master. I used the Force", Luke replied. 

"After so many years, you are back! You came at a bad moment though!", Leia Organa said.

"I know. I was cut off from everything", the Jedi said. "I was trying to find a solution with Ben."

"I am afraid he is gone Luke. He completely fell to the dark side. He is one of them now."

"Nobody is permanently lost Leia. Even Darth Vader himself was redeemed in the end."

"I don't think there is hope for Ben now. I know, and I feel it is over."

Luke turned around. He observed the less then two hundred Resistance members around him. Too few to defeat the First Order. But enough to make a new start. 

"Leia", the Jedi Master said "I am going out. I am going to make them leave the planet."

"Can you really do it? On your own?"

"Yes. But I might have to harm or either kill Ben. Can you tolerate that?"

"Ben is gone. Spare him if you can. But the lives of trillions will be affected here. I will never accuse you for killing him."

"I will try to let him live." Then Luke turned to Rey. "You are my successor Rey. You will rebuild the Jedi Order. Are you ready for that?"

"Yes, Master Skywalker. I have found the answer to your question."

“Tell me Rey.”

“The soldier puts his sword to the General's neck and threatens to kill him... unless the General withdraws his troops. He trades the General's life for the survival of his army.”

“You found it Rey. I am proud of you. You will become a Jedi Master.” Then Luke turned to face Chewie.

"Chewie, Han left you this beautiful piece of machinery that once made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs. It's yours now." Chewie growled.

"All right ladies and gentlemen, if you excuse me I have a Rebellion to save."

"May the Force be with you Master Skywalker!", Ray said. Luke turned around and smiled. Then he exited the base from the hole the laser had made to the armored metallic door. Getting out in the open, the Jedi Master walked to face the First Order, one man against several thousands.

 

"They are morons", a General commented. "They ask us to leave the planet. Supreme Commander, I suggest..."

Hux did not reply. His attention was focused on a lonely man walking towards them.

"Send two men to arrest that man. If he refuses or resists kill him", Hux ordered. Two stormtroopers stood up from their hiding place and approached him.

 

"Stop moving and put your hands in the air!", one of the stormtroopers ordered.

"You do not want to shoot me. You will holster your weapons!"

"We do not want to shoot you", both stormtroopers replied. Then they holstered their weapons.

"You want to return to your base and question the meaning of being part of the First Order!"

"We are going back!", they both said. They started walking without purpose.

 

"Arrest these two morons for insubordination. And shoot that man!", General Hux ordered. "Who is he? Is he..."

A hundred troops took aim against the hooded man. But nobody shot. And nobody arrested the two stray stormtroopers.

"This is ridiculous!", Hux screamed. "Fire at will on that man with everything we have."

 

Light and heavy artillery hit the area where Luke Skywalker was. The Jedi Master made no attempt to cover himself or leave. He only stopped moving. 

The bombardment was heavy and sustained. Craters were formed in the ground in the places artillery pieces had hit. Dust and smoke erupted. Nobody could see Luke Skywalker, yet the bombardment continued. 

"Cease fire", Hux ordered. 

It took a couple of minutes before smoke and dust settled. Using a pair of strong binoculars, Hux observed the battlefield only to observe... Luke Skywalker alive and unharmed? 

"This is impossible! Impossible!”

“No, it isn't.”, Kylo Ren said in the intercom. “We are going down there to investigate ourselves.” Kylo Ren and six hooded figures dressed in black got out of their armored transport. Five minutes later, they had covered the distance between them and the Jedi Master.

“Hello Ben”, Luke Skywalker said, his face a mask of anger. “Hello traitors”, he said referring to the Knights of Ren. The seven Knights of Ren drew their lightsabers and turned them on. Luke remained motionless and just removed his hood. “Did that General Hux tell you about your terms of retreat?”

“The terms are refused”, Kylo Ren said.

“Very well then.” the Jedi Master said. “Let us start.”

Two Knights of Ren approached the Jedi Master from left and right. Both of them tried to hit him with their lightsabers but Skywalker skillfully evaded their blades.

The Knights attacked again, more skillfully this time. Skywalker avoided their blades again.

Two more Knights joined the fight. Four Knights of Ren were around the Jedi now, ready to hit him from the front, the left, the right, and behind. They nodded between themselves, as if they already had practiced their attack countless times. Luke Skywalker remained motionless and looked at Kylo Ren.

“If you strike me now, I will grow more powerful than you can ever imagine”. These were also the final words of Obi Wan Kenobi in his duel against Darth Vader. Nevertheless, the Knights of Ren attacked.

Their attacks were simultaneous and coordinated. At the exact same moment, four blades hit the Jedi's body. One aimed to cut, another one to pierce, and the other two to slash. But none of them had any effect. Luke Skywalker remained unharmed. 

“A projection”, Kylo Ren said. “A Jedi mind projection. A cheap mind trick of no effect.” 

“Is that the best the legendary Luke Skywalker can do? Is that all uncle?” Kylo Ren said in a mocking tone. The other Knights of Ren burst into laughing.

“No, this is”, the Jedi Master said looked at one of the Knights. Using the Force he took the Knight's lightsaber.

Then Luke Skywalker let the lightsaber fly in the sky. His Force power guided it to the Knight of Ren who had just lost it. The Knight did nothing to avoid it because the Jedi Master used the Force to keep him immobile. The lightsaber moved to the Knight's neck and cut it decapitating him. 

“I had warned you. You didn't listen.”, Luke said in a menacing voice. The Knights of Ren retreated a few steps. Then Luke turned his attention to another of the Knights of Ren. He raised his right hand and the Knight started moving closer to the Jedi Master. 

Kylo Ren and the rest of the Knights of Ren used the Force to try and put their comrade away from Luke. But it was pointless. Luke was stronger than them. The dead Knight's lightsaber moved in the air, obeying Luke's commands and struck the trapped Knight of Ren in the chest, piercing his heart. Then it deactivated.

The Knights of Ren were panicking now. They were retreating. Luke looked Kylo Ren deeply in the eyes.

“Get out of here now, or you all die!”, the Jedi Master said in a thunderous voice. The Knights of Ren quickly left the area.

“Not you Ben!”, the Jedi Master said and Force pulled him. He was in panic now. He concentrated hard but he could not break his uncle's grip.

 

“Is he going to kill him?”, Leia Organa asked. She was deeply worried.

“I can't say. But he has Ren at his mercy”, Poe Dameron replied. He had replaced Finn in the observation periscope.

“No matter what he has done, he is still my son”, Leia said, tears forming in her eyes.

 

“You have betrayed the Galaxy, Ben!”, Luke Skywalker said. “You have betrayed your mother! You have betrayed your father! You have betrayed your teacher. You have murdered your classmates! You have tried to kill me! And worst of it, you have murdered your own father!” Kylo Ren was speechless, too frightened to even open his mouth.

“You are lucky I promised your mother to spare you if I could. You are also lucky that I am here on a mission. Call General Hux now!” Kylo did so using the intercom.

 

“This is General Hux!” 

“Hello General. This is Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Tell your forces to withdraw from the planet now.”

“I cannot give such an order.”

“Why, is Snoke going to veto it?”, the Jedi Master asked.

“No. But Kylo Ren has to agree with me on that.”

“Well, Ben what do you say? Do you order the First Order to withdraw or do you die right here?”, Luke asked.

“Alright, you win! Hux, order the troops away.”

“Listen to me General. I am in a form none of your weapons can hit and none of the Knights of Ren can harm. Do you see the two dead Knights here? Now, imagine yourself and that traitor over here in their place.”, the Jedi Master said.

“I will give you two minutes to decide. Then I kill Ben, or Kylo as you call him. And then General, I am coming for you!”

 

“What do we do Supreme Commander?”, one of the Generals asked.

“He is unstoppable. He has projected himself who knows from where. He can project himself whenever he wants. Nothing will stop him.”

“Very well Skywalker, you win! The First Order stands down.”

 

The next minutes the troops hidden around the Crait base stood up and quietly left. The TIE fighters flying above the base and the ones staying in orbit quietly left and went docking in Supremacy. The Hammer was turned around and so did the heavy four legged walkers. 

 

“He did it! The Jedi Master saved us!”, Rey said.

“The miracle we wanted is here!”, General Leia Organa said. “All right ladies and gentlemen. Time to leave.”

The damaged door opened and all the transports, fully fueled and equipped were ready for launch.

 

“Just one moment ladies and gentlemen”, General Organa said. “Colonel Poe Dameron has something to say to you.” Poe looked at her and he was puzzled. “Leadership means you should make a good speech from time to time. Don't be shy now. You have blown Starkiller base, this is a piece of cake in comparison”, she whispered him. Poe nodded. He was on his way to become a leader. 

“Once more the Galaxy is in peril. The First Order has attacked and is a strong opponent. But so are we. We are weaker in numbers...but we more than make that up in spirit.”

“All of us, and there are no exceptions here, have fought hard or worked hard to support the ones who put their lives on the line for the greater good. All of us had our doubts, our fears, our moments of hesitation and frustration, the moments when we wondered: is it worth it?"

“Even I, the supposedly legendary Poe Dameron had my moments. Even I wavered in the past. But we all knew deeply inside us that even in our darkest hour, even when the destruction seemed inevitable, there was something nobody would take from us. That something is hope."

“The Resistance is not strong because it consists of superhumen. It is strong because it consists of ordinary people who choose to do the extraordinary. It consists of people who will pick you up when you fall down, who will restore your faith in yourself and the greater good. It consists of people who will teach you what you don't know about yourself and the world, making you a better person for yourself and for the Galaxy in the process.

“We are now few, much fewer than when our fight started. We have destroyed their biggest superweapon but they still have a lot of strength left. The struggle now starts for real. We will have to recruit more people, find more allies, and prepare for a long and bitter fight. But we will win. But we will prevail. But the Galaxy will be free and peaceful again.

“We are still too weak to bring the First Order down. But day after day, we are going to become stronger. We here are the spark..."

“We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down.” Wide applause followed his final words. Leia was proud of him.

 

“All right everybody. You have your designated destinations and you have your orders. Get going!”, General Organa said. One after the other, the transports flew in the morning sky. 

“We have confirmation that all transports are safe”, Sergeant Tiko said. “They are moving into hyperspace now. And they are going to be stealthy”.

“Good”, General Organa replied. “All right Chewie, let's get into the Falcon and let's get out of here.” Chewie growled.

Chewie, Leia Organa, Poe Dameron, Rose, Finn, and Sergeant Tiko all boarded the Millenium Falcon. It was the last ship to leave the Crait base. Chewie and Poe were in the flight controls, Finn, Rose, Tiko, and Leia were in the four gun turrets around it. The spaceship flew above the place where Luke and Ren were. Then it flied out of Crait atmosphere. Then it made a hyperspace jump.

 

On the ground Luke Skywalker looked up in the sky the moment the Millenium Falcon passed on top of them. So many fine memories the ship had brought him. His first galactic voyage, his first battle against the Galactic Empire, his meeting with Han Solo and Chewie, his two best friends in the whole Galaxy, his survival when Han had used the Falcon to save his life in his attack run against the Death Star. 

The Jedi Master loosened his grip on Kylo Ren. He was calm now. “You will see and hear from me again Ben. And so will your buddies. The Rebellion starts today! See you around kid.” And with those words he disappeared.

 

Half a galaxy away in Alch-To, Luke Skywalker collapsed into the ground. His astral Force projection and his use of Force pull for a long time had left him completely drained. But he had succeeded. He had saved the Resistance. 

Luke Skywalker knew this was the end. He was not sad or afraid. The Jedi Order would continue after him just like it had continued after Yoda and Obi Wan had become one with the Force. Rey would have to shoulder the weight and he knew she would. 

A beautiful binary sunset dominated the horizon. It was as beautiful as the one he had seen thirty-four years ago on Tatooine when he was about to start his hero's journey. The journey was now complete. 

It was the last thing Luke Skywalker saw in his life. A few seconds later, he vanished becoming one with the Force. The legendary Jedi would only live as a legend and as a memory for his loved ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luke Skywalker appearing in the end was cool in the film... but what did he do? He just distracted the First Order for five minutes.
> 
> Here he scares the hell out them and he manages to earn a truce and give the Resistance the breathing room it needs.


	23. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The little boy in Canto Bight discovers he is one with the Force and the Force is with him.

It was night in Canto Bight when a young boy woke up. Just like every day, he had to give water to the animals in the stable. Just like every day he woke up, put his clothes on, picked up a huge bucket and moved to the vane to pick up water.

Just like every day, the boy looked around him to see whether someone was looking at him. Nobody was. The bucket was full of water and it was too heavy for the boy to pick up. Once more, the boy moved his arm and as if by magic the bucket flew in the air.

The boy and his bucket moved from the vane to the stable entrance. With another gesture of his hand, the bucket moved and turned upside down. Its content was spilled in a small pool. The animals would have water to drink.

Every previous day, the boy closed the stable door the moment the bucket was empty. But not this time. This time he exited the stable and looked around him. 

It was quiet and there was a serene beauty surrounding him. The boy felt a connectedness, as if he was part of something bigger and more important than him. And indeed he was. 

The boy thought about his morning chore of bringing water with the bucket. He sensed the feeling he was now experiencing and the seemingly magic powers he had were somehow connected. They both had the same source. 

The boy had never heard about the Force. But he could sense it, he could feel it, he could use it. 

The boy looked at the sky above him. It was still night and the stars were bright. One star in particular seemed to be brighter than others. It only glowed for an instant as if it wanted to send a message to him. 

The boy looked at the bright star and without thinking, without hesitating, he whispered the following words:

“I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.”

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!
> 
> Please leave your comments if you have any.
> 
> May the Force be with you!


	24. Bonus Material - A movie Review

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a movie review for the Last Jedi movie. I included it as bonus material. It has nothing to do with the fan fiction story in the previous chapters. 
> 
> Long story short, I disliked the film. I analyze the reasons here.

Bonus Material : Movie Review

A few months ago, I watched the Last Jedi. Long story short, I disliked it. It was a badly crafted film with characters I disliked, with a silly plot and with a supposedly feminist message ... but in reality a misogynistic one.

I have read some reviews about the film. The best, in my opinion, is the one Krasava M wrote in Scavenger's Holocron, a site dedicated to Star Wars. The review covers all aspects of the movie and I agree with almost everything she writes there. 

Another excellent review is by author and former Marine Chris Hernandez, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan. His criticism is not about the whole film but only about the actions taken by Vice Admiral Holdo. He considers her not a feminist but just a bad leader, and he is by no means a misogynist. I fully agree with his analysis.

Since Krasava M has done an excellent job outlining the flaws of the film, there is no reason for me to repeat her effort. I disliked most of the film but I will only focus on the part I found the worst. It was Poe Dameron's character arc and his interaction with his two bosses, Leia Organa and Amilyn Holdo.

The movie starts with the Resistance trying to evacuate its main base of operations in D'qar. Unfortunately, the First Order knows its location and sends an armada of capital ships led by General Hux. One of these ships is a dreadnought, a spaceship with massive firepower. According to Dameron the dreadnought is a “fleet killer”. Dameron is right: Its firepower is so massive that two hits from its main cannons are enough to blow the D'qar base up.

Poe Dameron decides to take action. He mentions to General Organa the ship is a fleet killer and requests permission to attack it. Organa refuses so Dameron, in one of the most critical moments of the film, disobeys his boss and orders the Resistance bombers to attack. The attack is a success and the First Order dreadnought is destroyed. But the price is heavy: the Resistance bombers are lost in the attack.

When Dameron returns to Raddus, the Resistance command ship, how does Leia treat him? She slaps him on the face, she scolds him for his decisions and demotes him from Commander to Captain. Supposedly Dameron is reckless and he has to learn some lessons: not to disobey superiors who know better and to remember that attacking and blowing things up is not always the best strategy. 

Disobedience is usually wrong and if everyone ignored their superiors, armies and all kinds of organizations would collapse. Besides, Dameron is an officer and disobeying his bosses would give his subordinates an excuse to disobey him as well. But what happens if obeying the orders causes more harm than disobeying them? 

(I will set aside the fact that the Rebel Alliance against Palpatine was in essence a disobedience of the legitimate authority in the Galaxy. Or the fact that the Resistance was Leia's private army and therefore highly illegal and by definition a form of disobedience to the New Republic authorities. I will also set aside the hypocrisy of some movie critics condemning Dameron for disobedience and never doing the same for Leia Organa.)

 

The problem? It was Dameron who was right to attack the dreadnought and not Leia who ordered him to retreat. The supposedly experienced Leia Organa understood jack shit about the situation. Let's analyze why.

You have options A and B. To decide which option is best, you evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for both. For instance, suppose you are Poe Dameron and your options are either attacking or retreating. Let's analyze them.

1\. If you retreat: You don't put your life in danger, you don't risk the lives of the bomber squadron and you don't risk punishment from your boss. On the other hand: You let an enemy capital ship with massive firepower roam the galaxy and potentially cause heavy losses to the Resistance, to your allies and your potential allies.

2\. If you attack: You put yourself in mortal danger, you risk the lives of fellow Resistance members and you might be punished for disobeying a direct order. On the other hand: you no longer have to worry about the loss of life a heavy enemy capital ship will cause to you and your allies.

 

Which is the best option? How do we evaluate that? In my opinion, the best option is the one that causes the least harm. We already know the First Order are so ruthless they blew up Hosnian System and killed dozens of billions of people. After losing the Starkiller base — thanks to Poe Dameron — they would use every available means to blow enemy bases and fleet formations up, including the dreadnought. 

What else do we know? We know that wars in the Galaxy far, far away sometimes last years — Clone Wars in the Prequel Trilogy lasted three years and the Galactic Civil War in the Original Trilogy lasted four — so how many lives would that dreadnought claim if this war lasted years as well? Potentially millions. Compare those millions to the dozens the Resistance lost when they attacked. Which option caused the least harm? Poe's, not Leia's.

For that reason, I firmly believe that Dameron did the right thing when he attacked the dreadnought. Yes, blowing things up is not always the best option but sometimes it is and in that particular case it was. Yes, the First Order still had many more capital ships to kill people. But losing one still means they will be weaker and will kill fewer people in the long run, many thousands less. 

In addition, there is another point. The Resistance evacuate D'qar base and jump to hyperspace but the First Order locates them and attacks again. To attack they use turbolasers from their capital ships and small starfighters, which cause significant damage. What if Dameron had obeyed orders and hadn't destroyed that dreadnought? We can't know for sure but it is plausible the First Order would have added its cannons to the mix with devastating results for the Resistance. 

As an additional point, let's remember what happens after that attack. The First Order just fire laser beams from a distance instead of making another attack with starfighters or ordering one of their capital ships to jump to hyperspace and cut the Resistance retreat off. Why did they become so conservative? A good theory — one I wish I had thought myself — was that Dameron's attack against the dreadnought scared the First Order and made them hesitant. If that is the case — something not provable but plausible — Poe should be praised and not scolded.

 

Let's move to another point concerning Dameron's disobedience: Leia's reaction the moment she learned about it. What options did Leia have?

1\. Just stare from the window and hope the attack succeeds. After all you have exhausted all available means to abort it, right?

2\. Send an emergency abort signal to the whole bomber group to announce they are to abort the mission bypassing your disobedient subordinate. After all, you should have contingency plans in case the officer in charge of the formation does not respond to your orders. A lot of things could go wrong: his plane might be shot, his radio might malfunction, he might go rogue ... the list is endless.

 

Either Leia finally agreed with Dameron's plan or she was clueless what to do. If the former is the case why did she demote Dameron? If the latter is the case, how can we consider Leia Organa an example of strong and competent leadership? Or a feminist?

And that was the moment I lost all respect for Leia Organa. 

 

After the First Order attacks, Leia Organa is wounded and is in a coma. Vice Admiral Holdo steps up to lead the Resistance. After an introductory speech, Dameron asks her — admittedly in a rude and disrespectful way — about her plan of action. Her response? To publicly scold him for his demotion and never get to the point of answering the question.

For starters, Holdo was an unnecessary character. She is introduced the moment Leia loses consciousness, and she is killed off a little after Leia returns to her duties. What did she add to the story? Nothing! Did we really need a strong female character? We already had one: Leia Organa. Did we really need someone to teach Dameron a lesson? Perhaps, but why not use Leia for that? Besides, as we will later see, Holdo didn't teach Dameron anything.

Is Holdo an idiot? Yes, she is. Let's see why. Poe Dameron had blown the Starkiller base up, saving everyone in D'qar base from certain death. Many of these people were there and listened to Holdo insulting Dameron. What impression would it leave you if a senior officer scolded the one person responsible for saving your life? Would that senior officer earn your trust or your respect? I don't think so.

It is true Poe was rude and dismissive, and he is to blame for that. But what did the older, more senior, and more experienced Holdo do? The same. What is her excuse? 

Actually both officers were under a lot of strain. They were hunted by a superior foe, they were running out of fuel. Dameron should have been more supportive to Holdo. I believe both should be forgiven for acting like idiots in that exchange.

 

A few scenes later, Finn, Poe's buddy tries to abandon the Resistance and find his friend Rey. Rose Tico formerly a crew member of Ninka — Holdo's initial command — recognizes him and congratulates him and Poe for their achievements in Starkiller base. But when she realizes he is about to jump ship, she zaps him with a taser to stop him.

In the next scene, both Rose and Finn realize the First Order has developed technology to track them through hyperspace. They inform Dameron, Dameron informs Maz Kanata, and they make a plan behind Holdo's back to destroy the technology. 

Granted, moving behind your commander's back is wrong. But why didn't Rose point that out? After all, she had been the one who had Holdo as her commanding officer for months and Holdo was more senior than Dameron. Had Holdo been such a bad boss Rose didn't trust her and instead she trusted a demoted Captain and a First Order defector who had just tried to jump ship? She certainly had been with Dameron and that is why he didn't tell her about his plan. 

 

A few scenes later, Dameron talks to Holdo trying to learn about her plan of action. He is rude, she is sarcastic. As a white collar employee myself, I hate such behavior when I see it in my colleagues or my bosses. It is childish, immature, and makes the others lose respect for you.

Dameron asks her about the plan. Her reply is she has no obligation to tell him. OK, let's think of that for a moment. 

Suppose you are like me, a white collar worker. In the company I work for, just like most companies, there is a written code of conduct that everyone from clerks to the CEO are obliged to follow. One of its articles states that you are obliged to help your colleagues whenever they ask for your assistance. For instance, if someone asks you information about a report they want to write, you have the obligation to give it to them. 

In other words: I am a citizen in a peaceful European country, and I am in the private sector of the economy and not in the army. I don't have the First Order gunning down for me. Yet my bosses are obliged to answer my questions. How on Earth the Resistance senior officers don't share information with subordinates?

Why my bosses share information with us their subordinates? 

1\. Transparency. They want to show us they have nothing to hide. 

2\. Accountability. If we know what our bosses plan, we can evaluate their skills, and we thus hold them accountable. If they make good plans, we respect them more. If they make bad ones …

3\. Better business. If we know what to do, it is obvious we produce better results than if we don't.

4\. Potential for improvement. If we know the plan, we can make suggestions for improvement.

 

Makes sense, doesn't it? Now let's compare and contrast that to Holdo's refusal to share her plans with anyone. How could her subordinates trust her? How could they evaluate her skills as a planner and a leader? How could they better help her if they didn't know what she wanted them to do? How could they offer their suggestions if they didn't know anything? 

What do they know? They only know they are running out of fuel and...

 

Hey, wait a minute! Running out of fuel? How could this be? The Resistance — especially Leia Organa because she is its boss — was founded by people who considered the First Order a powerful and dangerous enemy. But if that is the case — and we know it is — shouldn't they have prepared the Resistance for war? So how did they run out of fuel within a few days?

(I will set aside the fact that after seven Star War films plus Rogue One, it is the first time we see spaceships encounter fuel problems. I will also set aside the fact that in the same movie the Millennium Falcon never experienced fuel shortages.) 

And the question is: shouldn't Leia be held accountable for that? The Last Jedi has a supposedly feminist message while it clearly shows a female senior officer screwing up three times (fuel shortages, not realizing the real threat the dreadnought is, not having a plan of emergency retreat for the bombers in case she needed it). I am sorry but that seems more misogynistic than feminist to me.

 

By the way has anyone noticed Leia is not exactly a success story? While she was still a politician she failed to convince the New Republic authorities about the danger First Order was. In addition, her husband left her and her son joined her enemies. 

Granted, in the above cases it wasn't so much Leia's fault that things went the way they went. There was a lot of complacency in the New Republic, her husband was a former smuggler and not someone to stay home and finally her son was an adult when he chose to abandon them, so he was responsible for his actions.

As a General of the Resistance though, Leia only has herself to blame. For starters, she had combat experience, but she never commanded any units. She spent the years between the two wars as a politician and not as a military officer. 

The worst thing is another though. Despite living in a Galaxy with hundreds of trillions of people — if not quadrillions — and having years to prepare for the war with the First Order, Leia only managed to recruit a few hundred people for the Resistance. I have seen many third rate populist politicians in Europe be more successful in recruiting people despite only having millions - and not trillions - of potential voters to address. In other words: even an incompetent polititian would get better results than Leia, Holdo, and the rest could. Sorry!

 

Let's move back to Holdo's plan, the supposedly “brilliant” one. Let's see what the fuss was about:

1\. The remaining Resistance cruisers would move at sub light speed in a straight line.

2\. When they reached a prearranged spot, the Resistance members would enter cloaked transports and escape to an abandoned Rebel Alliance base undetected.

3\. They would wait in the base while the First Order chased the cruisers who would act as a bait.

4\. When the First Order was far away, they would radio their allies to come and pick them up.

 

We should give credit where credit is due. Holdo's plan was not a bad one. It was simple, easy to understand, and it could work. Unfortunately, it could only work if the enemy behaved in a very predictable manner, something Holdo could not know. Let's analyze a bit.

1\. What if the First Order launched another attack while the cruisers moved? They already had attacked once causing considerable casualties. Even if the Resistance survived a new attack, it would be depleted.

2\. What if the First Order could detect the “undetectable” transports. They were unarmored and unarmed, easy prey for enemy turbolasers or starfighters. (In fact that was exactly what happened.)

3\. What if the First Order located and attacked their hidden base? (In fact, they did exactly that.)

4\. What if the allies never showed up? Or what if they showed up and the First Order killed them?

Of course, even if the plan succeeded, the Resistance would be left without spaceships, totally dependent on its allies. In other words, the Resistance would become meaningless: just four hundred people with no power to do anything.

 

Let's analyze Dameron's plan now. 

1\. Finn and Rose Tico go to Canto Bight, a casino planet and try to locate a slicer.

2\. They convince the slicer to join them.

3\. Finn, Rose, and the slicer secretly enter Supremacy, the First Order flagship. They find the transmitter.

4\. They disable the transmitter and get out of there.

 

How could they make the slicer join them? (In the end they didn't, but they got lucky and found another one). How could they enter and move around the enemy spaceship undetected? (They actually accomplished that). How could they disable the transmitter? (They failed because the First Order had stationed troops there). 

In short, Poe' plan was as bad as Holdo's. But it had a big advantage over Holdo's plan: Holdo's plan would sacrifice the Resistance cruisers to succeed while Dameron's — if successful — would not sacrifice anything.

 

What about Poe's mutiny? Chris Hernandez mentioned above already has the answer to that: although mutiny is generally wrong, if there is one time for it, It is when you see your leader “vapor locks” and cannot take action. It was not the case but Holdo is to blame for the fact she gave the impression she was frozen in inactivity.

There are some interesting details about the mutiny.

1\. Dameron had accomplishes. In other words, the frustration against Holdo was not confined to him. And remember, in a mutiny you cannot order others to join you. They only join you if they choose to do so.

2\. Holdo failed to end the mutiny. Dameron managed to take control of the bridge. The mutiny ended when Leia Organa interfered and only because Dameron chose to let her enter the bridge.

3\. A strange thing happened after the mutiny. Both Holdo and Leia Organa were friendlier towards Dameron. But why? Dameron was in their eyes disobedient, rude, and made plans behind their backs. They were already pissed off because of that. The mutiny was a reason for them to be even more pissed off by him. Yet, they weren't. Why?

 

Point 3 reminds me of a personal example. Years ago, I had a misunderstanding with a colleague of mine, and he wasn't on friendly terms with me. One day I screamed and argued with him. The next day he was friendly and polite with me and remained so. Why?

Well, it appears it had been his fault to misunderstand me. The moment I screamed and argued about his behavior was the moment he realized he had been wrong to misunderstand me, so he promptly apologized and started behaving in a better way.

In my opinion, the same happened with Dameron. His bosses finally started thinking that maybe he had a point for acting the way he did. Maybe attacking that dreadnought was the best idea after all. Maybe the mutiny — which Holdo declared she didn't take personally — was a wake up call for the senior Resistance leadership to understand and realize they had lost touch with their troops. 

In the end Holdo and Organa referred to Dameron as a “troublemaker”. But it is ambiguous whether they meant it in a positive or negative way or both. Troublemaker could mean at least one of the following things.

1\. He was a troublemaker for the First Order. Besides, he blew up the Starkiller base.

2\. He was a troublemaker because he was undisciplined although he had good intentions.

3\. He was a troublemaker because he didn't accept foolishness, and he had the guts to disobey silly orders and mutiny against silly bosses.

 

After the mutiny was over, Leia told Dameron about their plans, plans Holdo had refused to share for hours. Why to do that? If Holdo was right not to share her plans why did Leia essentially bypassed and neutralized her? A logical explanation? Holdo was wrong. So who is to take a lesson here? Dameron who was right or Holdo who was wrong?

The moment Dameron learns about the plans, he contacts Finn and Rose and informs them about them. The problem? The slicer overhears them and informs the First Order. 

We shall come to that point later.

 

It Is time for the Resistance to abandon ship. They enter the unarmed and unarmored transports that Holdo has ensured are cloaked and are ready to leave. Only Holdo remains to pilot the cruiser using it as a decoy. Leia salutes her friend for more than thirty-five years, enters her transport, and leaves.

Why didn't Organa try to talk Holdo from essentially sacrificing herself? If Holdo was that competent, shouldn't Leia try to convince her stay with her? Weren't among the four hundred Resistance survivors other volunteers to pilot Raddus? Wasn't an additional senior officer essential to the organization?

A possible explanation? Holdo wanted to punish herself for her failures as a leader. She had a mutiny in her hands, she had alienated her own people — remember Rose Tico — she had seen Leia essentially prove her wrong in her decision not to share her plans. 

The transports leave Raddus. Holdo enters the bridge, alone. Then disaster strikes. Tipped by the slicer, the First Order locate the transports and blow them up one by one. How did that happen?

According to some people, the disaster happened because Dameron foolishly informed Finn and Rose about the plan overlooking the fact someone might overhear them.

While it is true that Dameron made a foolish mistake, he was not the only one to blame. Let's analyze it:

1\. According to Holdo, cloaking would protect the transports from observation. Yet, the moment the First Order learned about cloaking — but not its details — they were able to locate them within seconds. Perhaps they would have done so anyway without the slicer's info if they frequently changed scanning modes in their radars. That was Holdo's mistake.

2\. Dameron is to blame for revealing information in an insecure way. 

3\. What happened the moment the First Order started destroying the transports? Nothing for some minutes until … Holdo rammed Raddus to Supremacy killing thousands of First Order personnel, sacrificing her life in the process, and saving the Resistance.

 

Yes, Holdo was a hero for dying to save the Resistance. That is why in the end I have a positive opinion about her despite her bitchiness and incompetence. And killing First Order personnel actually helped because it reduced the attack and coordination capabilities of the enemy thus saving millions of lives in the long run.

However, from another point of view, Holdo's plan was a stupid one. According to Chris Hernandez again, her sacrifice was a last second improvisation and not part of her original plan. Had it been part of her original plan, she would have died when the first of the transports was gone, not when most of them had already been lost. If you want to die to save others, don't do it when most them have already died. Do it while they are still alive.

 

In the end, the last members of the Resistance are in Crait. Then the First Order attacks. Dameron leads an attack of ground speeders against them that fails, and he is forced to retreat.

Some people have pointed out such an attack had no chance of success and that it proves Dameron's recklessness. The problem with the idea? Leia Organa – who outranked Dameron – was in the Crait base as well. She could have stopped the attack at any moment and she didn't. If Dameron is reckless, then Leia is an idiot for accepting his recklessness and doing nothing to stop it, especially after Poe having disobeyed and mutinied in the recent past. 

In the end, the allies Holdo expected to appear never come. Only the appearance of Luke Skywalker — who sacrificed his life — and the Millennium Falcon save the day. 

Dameron tells everyone to retreat. People look at Leia, their leader. She tells them “What are you looking at?” symbolically recognizing Dameron as their new leader. Supposedly Dameron has learned a lesson that sometimes attacking and blowing things up is a bad idea. Right? Right?

Wrong!

Do you remember the Force Awakens where we are introduced to Dameron? Poe Dameron went to Jakku on Leia's orders to get the map for Luke Skywalker. But the First Order also went for the map so Dameron chose to retreat. Unfortunately, they hit his spacecraft before he could escape and he ended up their prisoner until Finn freed him. 

In other words: Dameron already knew that a tactical retreat is a good idea. He didn't need Leia to remind him that. He was not reckless. Poe retreated after he destroyed Starkiller base. He didn't stay to admire the fireworks! Even a complete idiot knows that when millions hunt you and you are down to your last twenty people, only retreat can save you.

 

I left the cinema with a bad taste in my mouth. They had treated Dameron wrong. They had misunderstood him, demoted him, insulted him, slapped him on the face, stunned him with a blaster. And he was right all along! 

Supposedly the message of the film is feminist. Oh really “geniuses”? A man disagrees with two women, he is right, they are wrong, and in the end he survives and leads the way. Is that feminism? I don't think so!

Let's consider the alternative for a second. Let's say that Dameron was wrong to attack that dreadnought and disobey his boss and it was his fault alone the First Order attacked the transports. So what did his two senior female bosses do?

1\. Leia Organa had a radio in front of her the whole time, and she could recall the bombers herself. She didn't. She had the means to stop Dameron from his supposedly destructive behavior, and she didn't.

2\. Holdo had a cruiser capable of ramming the enemy. What did she do? She waited till 300 out of the last 400 Resistance members were dead before doing so. Why not immediately attack and reduce the consequences of Dameron's mistake?

Why do I have an issue with that film? It is because I see a junior offirer disrespected and mistreated by his bosses. It is because I have seen such a thing happen so many times in my professional life: a mid level manager is right and his/her bosses wrong. What do his/her bosses do? They treat him/her like dirt, they demote him/her, they humiliate him/her, they ignore him/her, they never answer his/her questions, they never listen to his/her advice...

Let me tell you this: the Resistance sucks at decision-making, planning, and organizing. I don't get it. Within a few days they are down to 400 people. Really? They had years of advance warning and a Galaxy to recruit and that is all they could do?

There are many other issues with that film (Luke's refusal of the call, Rey's manipulation by Kylo Ren, Snoke's stupidity to let a deadly weapon next to him etc) but I consider them secondary. Besides, Crasava M had pointed them all, so I don't need to repeat her.

If only Dameron and Holdo had worked together as a team! Such a loss. An excellent actress like Laura Dern was forced to play the role of a bitchy – although noble and brave in the end - idiot. She deserved better.

 

I have seen bosses like Leia and like Holdo and I hated them. Rude, arrogant, hoping that attitude can replace genuine competence... I have seen them too many times not to recognize the type, too many times not to hate their guts. Both Holdo and Leia are the type. And the worst part? The movie creators believe that bitching incompetence should be the right thing. 

You blew up Starkiller base and saved your boss among others? Here, have a slap on the face and a demotion flyboy! We won't even consider your point of view! We know better! Because … reasons!

Well no! It is wrong! The Last Jedi as a bad film, written by people who knew nothing about true decision making and reviewed by a critics who knew nothing about the topics in question. There was no feminism in that film because feminism means real female competence and I have seen none of it (with the honorary – really honorary – exception of Holdo's heroism … but not her leadership ability!).

One month after I saw the movie, I made a decision. I chose to write my own version of the story and publish it for anyone to read. It made me feel better, it made me more creative, and most of it … some people read it and – hopefully – liked it. 

I decided out of respect for Holdo's heroism to include her in other stories … but not as a bitch. She retains her heroism, but she is a polite and caring boss with true competence. I also decided she would be very friendly with Poe (in one of the stories he even asks her to marry him ... and she accepts!)

As a final note: I really like strong women in film. But real ones (like Sarah Connor in Terminator or Leia Organa in Star Wars: A New Hope and not the Last Jedi) with real competence, not pretentious ones full of attitude but without substance. 

And finally dear readers... thank you for reading and thanks for the kudos!

May the Force be with you!


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